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Are you outraged? No? Stephanie Jones thinks you should be. She’s just published a piece at SalonIf ballots were bullets: If Americans cared as much about their voting rights as their gun rights, they’d be up in arms right now. Her premise: the laws some states have put in place requiring voters to show an ID before pulling the lever (or clicking the box) are part of a nefarious plot by “Republican legislators, governors and secretaries of state…to stop millions of Americans from exercising their right to vote.” Just one problem: Stephanie undermines her own point by demonstrating that she knows next to nothing about the roadblocks Americans have to negotiate to exercise their Second Amendment rights . . .

What if politicians began enacting and enforcing a spate of laws across the country that prevented millions of law-abiding citizens from buying guns in order to stop criminals from getting their hands on weapons?

Wait, hasn’t that been the ostensible reason behind almost every gun control law that’s ever been passed in these here fifty-seven states? Why yes, yes it has.

Steph seems to be under the impression that anyone can just stroll into their neighborhood merchant of death and walk out with whatever they want as easy as Neo loading up the matrix stockroom program. Whereas the requirement to exercise the franchise in some places will now, shockingly, include the onerous requirement of proving you are who you say you are.

But a woman who wants to protect herself and her kids in their crime-ridden neighborhood needs a little more than that to get herself a gat. Besides that same .gov-issued photo ID — oh no! — she’ll also have to fill out the ATF’s 4473 and pass a federal background check. And there might also be a state bureau of investigation check on top of it.

Where’s the outrage? Hold on, there’s more. In some places she’ll also need to be fingerprinted. And she may have to kiss her local sheriff’s ass ring (or contribute to his reelection fund) to get his blessing, too. Oh, and depending where she lives, she may not get her gun for a few days due to a legally required waiting period.

So are gun owners, up in arms (metaphorically speaking)? You bet they are, Stephanie. Unfortunately, we’ve been jumping through those hoops for so long now, we’ve gotten used to it. Kinda like the frog in the simmering water.

But does Ms. Jones give a rat’s ass about all that? Nope. ‘Cause no one really needs a gun, right? She has a point to make about racism and she’s not going to let a lack of knowledge (or any desire to do even a minimal amount of research) get in her way.

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90 COMMENTS

  1. Steph. look at the dem nat conv. People there had to show their I.D. 3 or 4 times plus open their vehicles to the Secret Service for inspection, so don’t give crap about showing I.D. to vote. You have to show and I.D. to use a credit card in most states. I know you trying to be a good little commie. But its getting old. Go hug a tree.

  2. Besides, voter ID is a “plot” to keep honest voters from being disenfranchised by crooked voting that nullifies their ballots. Sort of like the hundreds of thousands of dead voters who have been recently purged from voting rolls.

    I don’t know of any other developed country that allows voting without ID. If anybody knows of some, I would like to know.

    • Quite a few out there, because there are no IDs.

      Of course then they have to dip their finger in blue/purple ink, so still no voting twice 🙂

      • I was thinking of Australia, NZ, and countries in Europe particularly.

        Voting twice is a minor problem. In places like Chicago, it’s the biennial resurrection that is problematic. Of course, maybe zombies are entitled to vote.

    • I have no doubt that Voter ID is being pushed in the US at this particular time with the specific hope of limiting the ability to vote of some groups, such as college students.

      However, I also think that Voter ID is a good idea despite that I think it is being pushed for the politics of the moment. This is 2012, I suppose it’s time for everyone in the US have a government issued ID.

      But then, of course, there are the concerns about government invasiveness and tracking. Sigh…

      • If a person has made it to college and can’t manage an ID then that person probably arrived at college on the short bus and wearing a helmet.

        • My thoughts exactly. I don’t get how someone can’t have some form of ID these days. I have three types of ID right now in my wallet.

      • Of course it is to limit the ability of some groups to vote: those groups/people not legally entitled to vote. End of story.

  3. Doesnt feel so good when it works against you does it Steph?

    Oh, also, do these writers just not know how to use Google to look up firearms laws? If it was half as easy as these fear monger-ers make it out to be, we would all be buying crates of Mosin Nagants at the local Wally World, and Glocks at the 7-11.

    • Imagine a brightly colored vending machine with Sig Sauer written on it:…

      “Does anyone have another quarter? ‘Cause otherwise I have to get Hi-Point…”

      “The Hi-Point is stuck in the machine!”

      (Apologies to Dead Alewives comedy troupe)

  4. Every state and city should be able to choose the form of voter ID suitable for proving someone’s identity. For example, Floridians would have to show their CCW license, a New Yorker would show a GED and in Cook County, Illinois, a voter will have to show a valid death certificate.

    • Where were these people and their fake outrage when Black Panthers were patrolling the polls in ’08? Oh, it didnt affect their party of choice. Got it.

        • Had some Obamabots trying to do the same last election. Funny how they were stupid, as most Obamabots are, and violated state law on when and where they could, uh, PROMOTE their socialism. (they brought their radicalism into the polling place, dumb move)

          Called the cops, pointed out the law, and they were escorted off the premises or charges would be pressed and I made sure they understood I would follow up my promise to press charges.

          Michigan Electoral Law

          168.733 Challengers; space in polling place; rights; space at counting board; expulsion for cause; protection; threat or intimidation.
          Sec. 733.

          (4) A person shall not threaten or intimidate a challenger while performing an activity allowed under subsection (1). A challenger shall not threaten or intimidate an elector while the elector is entering the polling place, applying to vote, entering the voting compartment, voting, or leaving the polling place.

          168.744 Prohibited acts; violation as misdemeanor.
          Sec. 744.

          (1) An election inspector or any other person in the polling room or in a compartment connected to the polling room or within 100 feet from any entrance to the building in which the polling place is located shall not persuade or endeavor to persuade a person to vote for or against any particular candidate or party ticket, or for or against any ballot question that is being voted on at the election. A person shall not place or distribute stickers, other than stickers provided by the election officials pursuant to law, in the polling room or in a compartment connected to the polling room or within 100 feet from any entrance to the building in which the polling place is located.

          (2) A person shall not solicit donations, gifts, contributions, purchase of tickets, or similar demands, or request or obtain signatures on petitions in the polling room or in a compartment connected to the polling room or within 100 feet from any entrance to the building in which the polling place is located.

          (3) On election day, a person shall not post, display, or distribute in a polling place, in any hallway used by voters to enter or exit a polling place, or within 100 feet of an entrance to a building in which a polling place is located any material that directly or indirectly makes reference to an election, a candidate, or a ballot question. This subsection does not apply to official material that is required by law to be posted, displayed, or distributed in a polling place on election day.

          (4) A person who violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor.

          History: 1954, Act 116, Eff. June 1, 1955 ;– Am. 1972, Act 60, Imd. Eff. Feb. 22, 1972 ;– Am. 1995, Act 261, Eff. Mar. 28, 1996
          Popular Name: Election Code

          Man if looks could kill, LOL!

          Amazing when the law can be used as proper leverage!

          Bet money the BP was in violation of the law in that state as knowing govt. hard to believe they dont have a 1,000 subsection of laws describing how to vote like Michigan does, LOL!

  5. As suggested by Sarah Silverman. A federal ccw permit system good nationwide and valid as ID nationwide. Solves the issue of voter ID and restores civil rights to people in less enlightened places such as California, Chicago and NYC.

    Who would have thought a liberal would have come up with such a simple and logical solution?

    • No. I don’t like the Idea of national Id anyway. What happened to the 10th amendment? Why would I want the federal government to have power over my ccw besides the current background check?

  6. Wow, I didn’t realize poor blacks who support democrats didn’t have ID cards as well, and in mass numbers, in large cities where voter turnout is 3 times higher than average, where dead people (who WERE also poor, black, democrats) vote early and often.

    That’s what’s great about liberal writers, they so smart (Elmo voice here)

  7. Gun rights and voter rights do have something in common. We allow legislators to enact stupid laws that don’t fix anything.

    When only 60% of the citizenry show up for a presidential election and 30% for a midterm, perhaps less focus should be on the boogeyman of voter fraud and more focus should be on how we get more people to vote.

    • 40% clearly doesn’t care enough to take 20 minutes out of their busy lives every 4 years to vote–why exactly should we be encouraging this demographic to vote?

  8. If You need an ID to vote,
    And you need money to get an ID,
    Then it’s a voting tax, and has ALREADY been illegal.

    If you think showing ID to purchase a firearm is in the same vein, and thus illegal, please remember that one is purchasing a product and thus taxable in a traditional sense.

    Of course you could argue that since taxes are commonly used to effect sales and prevalence of various items, any armament (not just guns) taxation could be construed as attempted financial infringement and thus would be illegal.

    • One is not purchasing a product when one is purchasing a gun. One is exercising one’s rights under the constitution and the bill of rights. Taxing my rights is wrong.

      • Then why do we charge people for permits to assemble?

        And a gun is a product, purchasing one is subject to taxation. Nowhere in the constitution does it say anything about guns not being subject to taxation. As a matter of fact it does not say anything about guns, it says “arms.”

        Anyway, you have a right to posses these things, you have no right to be able to purchase them.

        • I have a right to posses but not a right to purchase? DID you get a cramp in your brain coming up with that one? Let me guess, you believe in “reasonable” gun control don’t you.

        • Yeah, reasonable like everyone should be taught weapons safety in highschool, and marksmanship should be an additional class worth PE and Physics (science) credit. If I was in charge I would also subsidize ammunition and contemporary military rifles for my citizens.

          Do not confuse my understanding of the retarded legal web we live in for acceptance of it’s existence. We do not have a ‘right’ to purchase arms. We only have a right to bear them.

    • Except that every state that has enacted voter ID has a program in place to give id’s to poor people for free or less then $20.

      We need voter ID from a practical and a moral perspective. Practical to keep people from voting twice and moral to restore confidence that this is so.

      After that we can work on absentee ballots where old people in homes get their votes made for them.

      • [Citation Needed]

        We do not need voter ID, as we do not have a voter fraud problem in this country. Unless you can prove otherwise.

        And “less than $20” is still infinitely greater than $0, which is the cost of voting in this nation.

    • @Thomas

      Cry me a river. Getting an ID is not hard if your IQ is above 75, and someone will get it for you if your IQ is below 75. I’m not willing to sh!tcan the integrity of the entire voting process because some poor Schuck already on government assistance can’t vote for more.

      • It is not IQ; it is availability. Here in Wisconsin, many of our counties only have one State Office or DMV, and they are not open every day. Some are only open once or twice a month, others are open only twice a week. Also, because of the budget problems in the state, many of the urban office have been closed.

        It is pretty easy for a middle class person who has a flexible work schedule to get an ID, but if we are honest, there are many people who do not have easy access to DMV offices, and they might well have jobs that make it very difficult to get to the offices. I am not against these laws, but let’s at least be honest about the fact that the laws do affect people.

        • I moved within the last 6 months and found time to get a new ID. I am a graduate student and work part time. I also live in a somewhat rural area, with the DMV relatively far from my house, and not open at very convenient hours. Guess what? I still found time to get my new ID and register to vote. Because I care enough to do it.

          As I posted in a response to someone else, my state has had voter ID laws in place since 2007. The number of minorities voting has increased dramatically, ‘despite’ all the cries that these are the groups that would be disenfranchised by voter ID laws. In summation, I think that this affects FAR less citizens who are legally able to vote than the MSM wants you to believe.

        • Are you getting an ID to vote, or because you need it for damn near any other grown up activity? I realize that DMVs are a PITA. I got my license at age 16 from a WI DMV. I fully understand that no normal person goes to a DMV unless they absolutely have to.

          Passports are also pretty damn good IDs as well. My passport is in one of my guns safes, my flight ID is locked in my car (in my locked yard or garage), and my DL and work ID stays permanently with me unless I’m in the shower or naked for any other activities.

        • @accur81
          Both so I can vote, and because to do anything you have to have one. Honestly, I may have been a little more lax had it not been an election year.

        • JoshinGa, first off, I hope you are having a great experience in grad school. It is great to study exactly what you are interested in. It is great that you have gotten an ID. It sounds like you have time to go to a DMV and that you have access to a car. All I was trying to say is that many working poor have neither the flexibility in their work schedules nor the transportation to easily get an ID.

    • In PA, if you need an ID just for voting, you are not charged a cent.

      Next whiny bitch about not allowing dead people to vote, please.

  9. Make the requirements to vote the same as to own a gun; and the requirement to own a gun the same as to vote.

    Simply go to the polling place, fill out a Form 4473, show your ID, and the poll worker will check with the FBI database to make sure that you’re not prohibited from voting. If everything is working correctly, you will be allowed to vote in a few minutes.

    If the GCA/Brady system does not violate the rights of gun owners, then what possible objection could there be to implementing the same system for voting?

    • That…makes sense.

      Though I think the FBI instant background check system would need to be seriously upgraded so as not to melt down on polling day.

      • We can safely sh!tcan the waiting period. I’m a CA LEO who writes senators in the faint hope of improving gun laws. It doesn’t work, but at least I’m trying. I’m planning on moving after I retire.

  10. I live in a Blue State. I show up, I am asked my name and my ID (several are accepted but photo id is not required, you can get a state photo ID which is not a drivers license from the DMV for free). The nice lady at the desk finds my name and crosses it from some really big paper list. Done! Been like this for years, and nobody seem to complain. Seems like the states with the biggest complaints are all heavy democratic strongholds who feel they need to stuff the ballots.

    • I live in a Red state with voter ID laws requiring photo ID (been that way for a while too; one of the first states in the nation). They found that since the law passed in 2005 (implemented in 2007) minority group turnout has been up. Go figure, the exact opposite of what those idio-er Democrats have been saying would happen.

  11. You cannot do anything without an ID now. You can’t hunt, fish, rent something, golf, drink, or even buy certain video games without a valid ID. So how does someone not have an ID to vote when they need it for everything else? I would bet that the democrats count on illegals voting so they are trying to enable that. Obama already issued the no deportation executive order to buy votes and is probably counting on those illegals to put him over the top.

    • There are many people who do not have IDs. Talk to a banker, especially who works in poorer neighborhoods, and ask in everyone has an ID.

      • Whether they have one or not is not the issue, methinks. It’s whether they should have one to vote. Seems like an important protection for a free and fair election. But hey, if the libs agree to remove all need for an ID to keep and bear arms, I’m willing to listen to a counter-argument.

      • I go to the bank to cash a check and I am required to show two forms of ID. If not then they don’t cash it, so really anyone with out an ID, is pretty much screwed from doing business at a bank. I am also talking about a payroll check from a major payroll provider not a personal check either. This is company policy at three major banks that I might go to as well. And I have been to really poor areas and these banks operate the same in every place.

        • Ive had similar experiences at banks. What Im wondering now is what is the ID requirement to sign up for and obtain government assistance? Is there any?

  12. I just checked out the website where this article was posted and now I am physically ill with incredible stupidity of many of the other articles there. Some of them even make this article look well thought out and carefully researched. I would encourage the AI to check some out to obtain a better understanding of what apparently passes for Liberal thought.

    • I think the problem is that it’s just that, thought. Five year olds have thoughts, and I used to know one that thought ketchup and steamed carrots were the best thing ever. Thought doesn’t have to be intelligent…

  13. I agree that we should not require an ID to vote, but for different reasons (actually, the same reasons that we should not require an ID to purchase or carry a firearm). If ID is required to vote, requiring ID to preform actions becomes normalized and lowers the barrier to requiring ID to preform more actions. The next thing that we need ID to do may be benign (such as attending public schools perhaps) or it could be much more dangerous (such as crossing state lines). Requiring ID to exercise my most basic freedom is wrong no matter how you spin it. It is a common thing for police states to require citizens to have papers for all kinds of asinine reasons, and requiring ID to vote is one of those. Don’t immediately disagree with someone just because they are a liberal, that’s what they do.

    • By your logic, you shouldnt need an ID (or govt approval) to do anything. Which unless you are a complete anarchist…most would agree just wont work.

    • Although it’s a classic slippery slope argument, I agree with Alex. I don’t want to be part of a country where it’s necessary to show my “papers” to exercise basic fundamental rights.

      Ever been to a highway in Arizona or So. California lately? First it’s citizenship checks on east-to-west highways that have NO contact with the Mexican border, then it’s ID checks for crossing state boundaries in the name of public safety.

      Besides, what’s a slippery slope anyway? I prefer the term incrementalism, as it’s an incredibly real and empirically proven phenomenon.

    • Alex, at colleges you already have a certified copy of your birth certificate sent to the college, you also show a picture id. Then, they make a picture ID for use at the college for attendance, entry to certain things on campus etc. I would think this college picture ID would also serve as a valid proof of identity. Let’s face it the liberals are only complaining because they will then have only 1 vote. Surprise, that is what our fore fathers intended. hmmmmm works for me.

  14. ‘DHS graduates first Corps of Obama’s Brown Shirts – Homeland Youth’

    “they conjure up memories of the Hitler Youth of 1930’s…aged 18-24 and recruited from the President’s AmeriCorp volunteers, they represent the first wave of DHS’s youth corps, designed specifically to create a full time, paid, standing army of FEMA Youth across the country”

    http://preppercentral.com/?p=2937

  15. It’s even worse than you realize. Think about it: the 2nd Amendment doesn’t grant anything, it is supposed to protect a right granted us by our Creator. As such, this right to keep and bear arms (right to self-defense) is the right of every human being, not just Americans.
    On the other hand, voting is not a human right granted by our Creator. It is a legal right but only for citizens of this country. If one must be a citizen to have the right, doesn’t it follow that one must prove citizenship/identity to exercise this legal right? Why do people who fight voter ID laws not resist voter registration laws?
    There is no comparison between the two: one has nothing to do with the other.

    • THANK YOU FRANK!! Now that hit the nail on the head. I have been trying to remember two candidates running at the same time that are as worthless as these two. This is like choosing between John Kerry and George Wallace. Now i am sick to my stomach.

  16. That’s correct, I do not believe I should be required to show identification to do much of anything. I do not consider myself an anarchist, but I do resent any governmental intrusion into my personal life, so say what you will. 😉

  17. Up here, in Canada–as in any other country in the developed world–you have to show ID to vote, in local, Provincial, and Federal elections. No exceptions, and no excuses. And if you told even the most left-wing NDP member that voter ID was ‘racist,’ he’d laugh in your face. Also, we use plain old paper ballots, rather than those dreadful Diebold machines. America is a great country, but your electoral system is a mess.

    • “America is a great country, but your electoral system is a mess.” Yes, on both counts. But if you try to improve the system, you get called racist, bigot, etc.

    • Tell that to Lyndon Johnson, who reportedly won his 1948 Senate election by stuffing ballot boxes with the approval of the county sheriff. Paper ballots aren’t always the best.

  18. I have voted in countless US elections and even two Israeli elections. In Israel, no ID no vote. It almost seems silly that they can’t implement that here without some sort of crazed response. The validity of the vote is critical, and I don’t care what side you rally with. Knowing first that your vote isn’t tampered with is key, and also getting to vote. Having only half of all voters vote is simply unacceptable in my book. You have a choice to help change who we send to government, why wouldn’t you vote?

  19. If your right to vote were legislated like your 2nd Amendment rights.

    1. You would have to present your drivers license at the voting location
    2. You would have to fill out a form before each ballot.
    A. Form would include name, address, date of birth, government-issued photo ID, National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) background check transaction number, make/model/serial number of the ballot.
    3. After filling out your form, there would be a NICS check before you could proceed.
    4. In some states you would have a waiting period before you could cast your ballot
    5. The voting laws would vary greatly from state to state.
    6 …

    • Try and make them have an ID to vote and suddenly you’re a racist pig. Go figure. Their view of “reasonable” apparently changes when it effects something they want to do.

  20. If these people can get a ride to the polls to vote, why can’t they get a ride to get a “free” picture ID? i think we all know the answer to that.

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