[Magdalen] right to bear arms

[Jim Guthrie]

From: James Handsfield

>So why are so many Republican state administrations doing everything they can 
>to restrict the right of voting to anyone they think might vote against them? 
> >The pressure to require a state or other government ID (I have another story 
>about that) to vote is a clear attempt to prevent those who might vote 
> >Democratic from being allow to vote, denying them their Constitutional RIGHT.

Nothing wrong with a government-issued ID for voting under certain conditions:

1. The ID must be issued at no cost whatsoever. Unless a drivers license is 
free, for example, it should not be accepted.  The 24th Amendment prohibiting a 
"Poll Tax" is totally ignored by the people requiring an ID that costs money as 
required for voting.

2. It's availability must be as ubiquitous as polling places themselves. This 
business of requiring a trip to DMV is simply not right -- not everyone can get 
to a DMV, for one thing -- particularly people in nursing homes.

3. The basis for the ID has to be flexible -- not everyone has a birth 
certificate or access to one, for example. Certainly, someone who has been 
voting for 60 years should not be prohibited from voting because a sudden change 
in the law requires a birth certificate.  Maybe an old drivers license and a 
utility bill or some such should suffice..

But as we know, the effort to impose voter id is all about disenfranchising 
people who might not vote Republican, not any of the other straw man reasons 
presented.

Cheers,
Jim