Showing ID

Wired News consistently has great information on a daily basis. Today is no different with this story on EFF co-founder John Gilmore's pending lawsuit against the W administration.

On Thursday [tomorrow, the 8th], Gilmore and his lawyers will get 20 minutes in front of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to make their argument against identification requirements and government secrecy, in a case that time and shifting public opinion has transformed from a quirky millionaire's indignant protest into a closely watched test of the limitations of executive branch power.

"The nexus of the case has always been the right to travel," Gilmore said. "Can the government prevent Americans from moving around in their own country by slapping any silly rules on them -- you have to show ID, you have to submit to searches, you have to wear a yarmulke?"

Gilmore hasn't taken a bus, train or domestic flight since July 4, 2002. He has, however, flown internationally as he doesn't see a problem with showing his passport when travelling to another country.

Interestingly, he first started thinking of filing suit back in 2002. Several civil liberties groups encouraged him not to do so fearing a high profile case and set precedent with a loss, the article reports. But things are different now and there's a wide anti-W sentiment in the U.S. with W's approval ratings in the shitter [and by "shitter" I mean hovering around 35%].

On Thursday, Gilmore will argue that the government's secret identification rules -- no federal law compels travelers to show ID -- and no-fly list infringe on his First Amendment rights, but don't make the country safer.

In addition, government lawyers long denied the existence of the rule -- which predates the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks -- even though there are signs in airports cautioning passengers that they are required to show identification.

The government recently switched tactics, acknowledging the rule exists but arguing that the identification requirement is a law-enforcement technique.

And nobody has ever seen this "show your ID" rule because since 9/11, the TSA is allowed to withhold sensitive information like this from the public.

I've heard of the same policies here in Philly in regards to taking photographs on SEPTA and on the Ben Franklin Bridge among other places. I've been told, firsthand, of people who were told to stop taking photos of such-and-such place by an officer and when asked to come up with the documentation to back up the request, the officers started to get tough and become more threatening. One photog recounted a story of having his film confiscated. SEPTA does not have any written rules about photography on the trains or in the stations from what I'm told. NYC went through a similar debacle ending with photographers retaining the right[s] to photograph at will on the trains and in stations.