(November 1, 2014 at 1:22 pm)Jenny A Wrote:(November 1, 2014 at 9:19 am)Heywood Wrote: I often hear from the left that voter ID laws disenfranchise certain people who have difficulty obtaining IDs. Usually its minorities and elderly. A friend of mine complains vehemently about it.....how peoples rights are restricted and such and such.
Well if that is the case why don't the far lefties complain about ID requirements to obtain a marriage license? Marriage is a right too.....isn't it?
First of all voting is the right from which all other rights and interests flow. If minorities or the elderly felt that marriage license laws were overly burdensome, they would have little if any voice in changing that burden without the right to vote.
Next there are considerations of time frame and customary expectation. Production of a birth certificate, and other documentation such as marriage certificates and divorce decrees, not to mention death certificates for former spouses are all traditionally expected when applying for a marriage license. And they are documents most people have whether they drive or not.
Nor is there a marriage deadline that you can miss after which you don't get to marry, though for people who worry about children born out of wedlock there may be a non-legal deadline. Should you not bring the proper documentation the first time, you can go home and collect it even if that requires a calling county clerks offices in other states. Not so voting. If you don't have the proper ID on the day of election you are SOL for that election. Ditto registering for the election.
Finally, while I have heard complaints from voters disenfranchised by ID laws, I've yet to hear complaints from persons unable to wed because of ID laws.
Awesome Post Jenny,
You're one of the few posters who challenge my world view.
