The United States Government should require a national photo identity card for all residents.

Thanks for accepting :), and I ask that all voters vote not on their personal feelings, but on how the round was debated. I also ask that if they have time, voters should leave a reason for their decision in the comment section. My first point is that national ID cards would replace current driver's licenses, and would be more secure then the current ID cards (most often driver's licenses) we have today. In response to ID theft, and false IDs the federal government has raised standards for ID cards (real ID act). If the US government issued a national ID card, it would have security measures that current cards do not, such as a RFID chip, barcode or other biometric data (retina scan, fingerprints, ect.) (http://www.wired.com...). Measures such as those would not only increase the security of ID cards, but also make them more difficult to forge. My second point is that the benefits of national ID cards/drivers licenses) are increasingly necessary. National ID cards would (as my opponent points out) require a national database. Every state has its own state database of people with ID cards from that state, but states often do not have the databases of other states. let say John from New York was pulled over in Delaware, the Delaware police would have to ask the New York police to look up Johns information (such as any unpaid tickets, outstanding warrants, ect.), and wait for New York to get back to them. This adds both time and frustration to the officer's job. With a national database, this problem would be avoided. Then when John was pulled over, instead of being checked by that states database alone, or waiting to have another state look up the information, John would be checked against a national database. This would also close some loopholes in the system. Currently, if John got a DUI, then only his state would know about it. if he were to move, then that information would be erased when he got a new drivers license (people only go into a national DUI database once they get three DUI's). with one database, this loophole would be gone. to look at my opponents case 1 While every system has its flaws, the tightened security of national ID cards over the current ones would minimize any flaw. the fingerprints, barcode, and RFID chip that would go into national ID cards would prevent someone from fooling an officer or TSA agent, as they would check the codes against the national database. thereby stopping anyone with a more malicious intent then sneaking into a nightclub. 2 A national ID card/license (or database) would not "have all of a person's information". all they would have is John's description (height, weight, hair/eye color, race.), possibly an address. If john had a record (past driving violations, such as speeding, DUI's, ect.) it would be in the database. That information already in state databases, so it would not change with a national ID card. I also fail to see how this information would lead to discrimination, and ask my opponent to prove how it would. 3 If someone were to lose their ID card/license then they would of course go to the department of motor vehicles, and get a new one. this would set an alert in place so if someone were to try to steal someone's identity (which is rather hard to do with a drivers license, as you never use it for ID on the internet. and if someone were to use it to impersonate someone, they would have to look like them, be roughly the same age/weight and hope that they haven't reported the missing ID card.) they could be found and caught. 4 National ID cards would, as I said, replace the current system of state driver's licenses/ID cards. So they would only be issued to US citizens who had a street address (that's a new security measure some states are adding, and would be a part of a national system). Also, national ID cards are not meant to protect people, they are meant to IDENTIFY them. Just like drivers licenses are. national ID cards would make places like airports, government buildings, and other sensitive areas more secure. 5 National ID cards would weaken freedoms as much as driver's licenses or passports have. that is not at all. National ID cards would only be an updated, national level driver's license, and would not erode personal freedoms. 6 My opponent is vastly exaggerating the costs of a national database. it would not require a shiny new building and equipment. it would only require that states allow every other state access to the databases they already have. they would have to be updated with the new information, but this is done every time someone moves or commits a traffic violation. the cost would not be severe. National ID cards would not require information "on every person coming into the country" as my opponent says, nor would it require information on minors. it would only require the information that states already collect when issuing ID cards, the person's name, description, and address (and record if they have one) nothing more.