As many as 56,000 Hoosiers may lose their drivers' licenses because they don't match the information in a Social Security database, and the American Civil Liberties Union is suing to keep it from happening:
"What the BMV is doing is taking legally an entitlement from thousands of people," the ACLU's Ken Falk said. "You're entitled to have a driver's license and the state can't come and take it away from you."
Well, I don't know about that; it depends on whether you consider driving a privilege or a right. Maybe a lawyer could clarify the issue for me, but I think driving is still considered more the former than the latter. Everything has been moving in the direction of rights in recent years, but there are still too many qualifications attached to driving (driver's age, condition of vehilce, insurance required, rules of the road, no drinking, etc., etc. etc.) for it not to still be just a privlege granted by the state.
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According to Indiana law, you do not have a "right" to a drivers license, ask anybody who has ever had a ticket. Now to reverse themselves and actually declare it a "right" the state would open itself up to a gazillion lawsuits from folks who have had their licenses revoked for various infractions. Frankly, I don't see that happening.
The argument that this will disenfranchise voters is hollow, as there are other forms of FREE I.D. available to citizens for the purposes of voting. But it does give the ACLU & the Dems something else to whine, piss and moan about, and we certainly wouldn't want to deprive them of that.
Driving is a PRIVILEGE...period.
I couldn't find ONE WORD in ANY of our historical documents that say's that along with our inalienable rights is THE RIGHT TO DRIVE.
(unless you consider "other people crazy" as an adjunct to "driving" - Ask any 2 year old...LOL!)
When your license is revoked, I don't see the ACLU shouting about RIGHTS being taken away...why?
because driving is (all together now, kids)...
A PRIVILEGE.
Rights are endowed, privileges are EARNED.
(and as such can be given or taken away depending on the criteria used to base them upon)
...BIG difference.
;)
B.G.