Originally Posted by
polonius
Not analagous at all -- you are talking about COUNTRIES that accept a NATIONAL ID, something similar to the new U.S. "passport card". Those are not documents issued by a state or a municipality.
If it can be used for travel, it's a travel document. It doesn't sound right to me.
i beg to differ, for several reasons!
first of all, in many european countries, it
is the state or the municipality that issues the national ID or sometimes even the passport!
whether they all have the same format/shape/colour etc. is in fact a detail. in the usa the new regulations (as someone pointed out before) result in the fact that the DL is basically a national ID (national ID# = SS# anyhow) which just happens to have different colours and states written on it to make people happy.
as a matter of fact in switzerland the cantons used to issue their own passports in their own format!
a real travel document is a booklet because travelling requires the apposition of visas. everything else is an exception to the rule, and you can decide to accept DLs, national IDs, children IDs, or the ID i issue for my circle of friends who like cheeseburgers.
ah, and then what is the purpose of national IDs? usually in europe they strictly confirm nationality and identity, at the same time there are many european countries where a passport is strictly an identity and travel document, and only a
presumption of citizenship... it's fun.
ciao!