Re: Off-Topic, New Orleans Images

Hello Trevor,

Just so I know when I am traveling in the US this summer; Is it a law
that you have to present ID when asked for it? And who is considered an
  authority, Policeman, a rent-a-cop in a mall or what? What is
considered an adequate form of identification?

Up here, In Canada, we have a "Charter of Rights and Liberties" that
says that no one, including the police, can ask you for ID. (Driving is
another matter, you need a driver's permit to drive and it has to be
shown but that is required of the driver by the highway code; but a
policeman cannot ask for the ID of the other occupants of the car. The
law is quite specific on that but that is another matter). It is none
of their business. I cannot be arrested for not showing an ID or for
not having one. It is not a crime. I cannot be arrested for refusing.
  One cop tried to pull that stunt on me several years back and I quoted
the relevant passages from the Charter and told him that according to
the Charter, he was harassing me because he did not have just cause. I
took his badge number and told him I would report him. The authorities
try and play on our fear of authority and create an atmosphere of
paranoia. I dared him to arrest me for refusing to show ID. I told him
it was none of his business who I was. He had to back down because he
knew he was out of line. It is not a crime to not have an ID. I used to
teach the Charter in my ethics course because the kids were always
getting hassled by the cops. I told my students, Know your rights and
stand up for them, refuse to be intimidated by the cops. They know they
can't arrest you but they try and play on your ignorance. You have to
stand up for your rights but first you have to know them, chapter and verse.

Trevor, you say that it is your understanding that one is required to
present ID, but is it required by law? Is your understanding valid. What
are your rights? Have you checked up on this issue. Can you be arrested
if you refuse to show ID? What constitutes an acceptable ID? I am
assuming that if there is a law that requires you to show ID, then every
citizen must have in their possession a national standardized ID card,
the way you do in European countries. To my knowledge there is no such
thing in the US. What I know of the American law, there is no legal
requirement. Now what does the Patriot act have to say about that?????

Regards, Bogdan

trevor cunningham wrote:
> It is my understanding, and always has been, that one is required to
> present some form of identification (whether or not it is photo, I don't
> know) if approached by authorities. My own amusement (of my own
> country's political mallarky) stems from the contradiction of ideology
> that the "conservative" Republican administration currently represents.
> Aside from the socialist turnabout in WWII under Roosevelt, the Schrub
> administration represents the most invasive use of government power on
> its own people, and don't get me started on the budget and big spending
> (sadly, the Republicans don't mind as long as it's not spent on poor
> people). I get a giggle out of these hapless sheep who "proudly"
> support this man(?) simply because they can't get the Schrub/Cheney
> bumper stickers off their cars. The only remaining scraps that still
> resemble the GOP flag is its embrace of Christian values and its ironic
> impostition on the public domain. One should really understand why so
> many of these terrorist factions are screaming jihad. The 9th Crusade,
> brought to you by Coca-Cola, Cingular, McDonald's, and the Nestle
> Corporation.
>
> Bogdan Karasek <bkarasek@videotron.ca> wrote:
>
> What next, compulsory ID's?
>
>
> "The optimist believes this is the best of all possible worlds.
> The pessimist fears it's true" - J Robert Oppenheimer
> <http://geocities.com/tr_cunningham>
> http://www.geocities.com/tr_cunningham <http://geocities.com/tr_cunningham>
>
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-- 
________________________________________________________________
   Bogdan Karasek
   Montral, Qubec            e-mail: bkarasek@videotron.ca
   Canada
                   "I photograph my reality"
__________________________________________________________________