First, the state legislatures go after persons with no power.
After no one complains, the next group might prove a bit more difficult, but with a bit of rationalization, those targeted can be coerced into believing the voluntary giving up privacy rights can serve to protect in the long run.
Yet, in Georgia, it's more than that. It's a step through the back door to get what is really wanted.
Read on.
Veterans and current military members with post-traumatic stress disorder could soon have their diagnosis displayed on their driver’s licenses.
The Georgia General Assembly recently passed legislation that would allow current and former military to request the information be included on their licenses. The bill was sponsored by State Sen. Ron Ramsey (D-Decatur) and co-sponsored by State Sen. John Douglas, R-SocialCircle. “I thought it was something that could help sick veterans and police officers. It would be beneficial to both sides,” Douglas said. “If a law enforcement officer saw a certain move or something like that he may could attribute it to something along the lines of PTSD. Many police officers and deputies are former military themselves and it would help garner some understanding and recognition of something they themselves might well be familiar with.”
Since the bill passed, several veterans advocacy groups have expressed opposition, including Marvin Myers, president of the Georgia Vietnam Veterans Alliance Inc. Myers said having that information on a driver’s license will only serve to perpetuate stigmas associated with PTSD and pave the way for more discrimination against sufferers.
“I spent two and a half years in Vietnam. Most people who were there have some touch of PTSD at some time in their lives,” Myers said. “They’ve been portrayed as everything from Rambo running around like an idiot all over the world shooting people. That’s not the typical veteran ... If you’re running along speeding and you get pulled over and you pull out your driver’s license and it says ‘PTSD,’ they’re not going to be sympathetic.”
Myers said it’s important to remember the information will be available to everyone from employers to banks — anyone who requests an ID — and could affect employability and applications for a firearm, for example.Douglas said there was no opposition expressed by any veterans groups while the bill was in the works.
“As a result of no concerns being expressed, it passed the Senate unanimously and there was only one no vote in the House,” he said. “Had we known there was concern, then we could have worked on that.”
(...)
The legislation has prompted the Georgia Sheriffs’ Association to revisit a previous idea of having sex offenders identified on their drivers licenses...
The governor is expected to sign the bill by June 8.
Vets are expected to make their voices heard in opposition until then.
Georgia certainly knows how to honor their veterans.
