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Subject: 
Re: Should we be concerned?
Newsgroups: 
lugnet.off-topic.debate
Date: 
Tue, 3 Jun 2003 22:52:26 GMT
Viewed: 
374 times
  
In lugnet.off-topic.debate, Richard Marchetti wrote:
   In lugnet.off-topic.debate, Bruce Schlickbernd wrote:
   ...since a driver’s license is not a right

Hmmm, I find this a sticking point.

I believe the right to travel by common conveyance is a right. If it were otherwise I’d be stuck at home unless I were willing to obtain whatever license is necessary to travel -- and then my right to travel would be being regulated unfairly. And I shouldn’t be relegated to mere walking alone, that’s less than is necessary in the modern world -- and I have a right to work, to buy groceries, and do all the needed things to survive.

Allow me to correct myself: a driver’s license is specifically enumerated as not a right in California. Other states may be different, though I don’t specically know of any that vary from that. The right to travel is in no way prohibited. You can use the bus, train, light rail, taxi, plane, etc. But driving a car is restricted to licensed drivers, and you must submit to the state regulations to get one. The only question is it a reasonable request: accurate identification would seem to be a reasonable request so that the driver can be accurately assessed as to whether they match the issued license or not. The “I have a right to work” excuse is specifically addressed and dismissed in California (see alternate modes of transport listed above - what you are attempting to argue is that a driver’s license could never, ever be suspended).

  
I am not a driver or chauffer of any kind -- no cargo, no paying passengers -- just me and or my family and our personal goods. I am not engaged in some extraordinary, privileged activity in using a car. To the contrary, if I were to drive a car I would be engaged in one of the most mundane and ordinary activities possible in the U.S. in the year 2003.

BUT, I understand the public may have an interest in testing my proficiency for an activity like driving -- and as such, I think some kind of “operator’s certificate” would suffice. Basically, an eye exam with a test showing that I can drive a possibly lethal weapon without causing loss of property or harm to my neighbors. Maybe test me once every 10-20 years. No attendant, quasi-ponzi, insurance scheme, thank you very much. I can be responsible for me and mine.

But is it you in the car driving it?

  
In my view, the reason they want to license you is tie you into a quasi-contract via the vehicle code -- basically, to regulate the heck out of you. And with such regulation comes a whole host of regulatory intrusions and hassles that attempt to prevent that which is unavoidable -- that people will violate the regulations (often and without aforethought). And I strongly disagree with both the motivation and the results that are currently part of our life.

What can I say? I disagree with your view.

  
On the subject of the veil, I think a person may have a religious right to refuse intrusive identification techniques. We are heading too quickly towards a national I.D. and all manner of other tools of control.

Depends on the situation - if she wants to drive a vehicle on public roads, she’s outta luck.

-->Bruce<--



Message is in Reply To:
  Re: Should we be concerned?
 
(...) Hmmm, I find this a sticking point. I believe the right to travel by common conveyance is a right. If it were otherwise I'd be stuck at home unless I were willing to obtain whatever license is necessary to travel -- and then my right to travel (...) (21 years ago, 3-Jun-03, to lugnet.off-topic.debate, FTX)

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