The REAL ID Act is being seen by many individuals and state governments as just one more grab by the federal government to seize control of more people. According to legislation passed in 2005, the REAL ID Act can impose certain regulations on States in order for them to be in compliance with anything that the Department of Homeland Security deems to be a necessary function for requesting ID. This includes things such as accessing nuclear power plants, federal buildings or even just getting on a commercial airliner. These regulations required that the States impose extended and sometimes radically different rules for obtaining a state ID or driver’s license. This was to ensure that all issuance procedures, authentication and security standards are up to par with the federal guidelines.

However, this hasn’t gone entirely that well for the federal government as there have already been at least twenty-five states to pass legislation that allows them to back out of the government standards and continue to use their own regulations. In 2009, the states that hadn’t already passed legislation against the REAL ID Act were given extensions (until the end of the year) to come into compliance with federal regulations. This has been met with resistance, though some have chosen to just fall in line and have fought to stay or come into compliance.

The opinion of many individuals, that this is just another grab at the freedoms of Americans’ rights, seems to extend even as high up into the government as Janet Napolitano (Obama’s appointee to head up the Department of Homeland Security). Since its inception in 2005, there has been an almost constant congressional battle to repeal or, at the very least, heavily amend the REAL ID Act. In many ways this legislation could help secure America against further terrorist attacks, but it could also allow the federal government one more allowance of control that takes away rights (privacy and the like) of law abiding American citizens.