Originally Posted by
lamphs
Why would you not want reasonable protections for US-issued IDs, whether issued by a state or by the feds? I've been around long enough to know how easy it was to 'modify' MD and DC driver's licenses for buying beer. I, for one, am glad that a MD DL is now extremely difficult to modify. Do you not want to be even more reasonably sure about who is who when you travel?
Why?
I don't care if the pax has unpaid child support, is out on bail, is a paroled murderer, has unpaid library fines, or has twelve fake IDs stashed in her shoe.
If TSA has done its job, identity doesn't matter - the pax and his/her belongings have been properly screened and present no threat to me or aviation security.
The rest of the world seems to understand this. The rest of the world uses airport screening to screen pax and belongings to ensure that no dangerous contraband (hazardous to pax and flight) gets into the sterile area and on board the plane. To the best of my knowledge, no one has ever harmed a pax or an aircraft by using a fake ID.
After all, a soldier, a munitions expert, boarded a plane in Fayetteville with two bricks of government-issue, military grade C4 in his carry-on - a carry-on that was flagged and searched because he also had a live grenade. He had legitimate active-duty military ID.
Which was potentially the greater threat: the guy with legitimate ID and explosives in his bag or someone without ID who has been groped, swabbed, groin-chopped, buttock-stroked, and asked 50 questions because he showed up without an ID?