Country Music Star Shares Interesting Take On Real ID, Starting Heated Debate

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Country music icon John Rich probably isn’t the first person you’d think of when it comes to this odd debate going around online about Real ID, but he started an interesting debate on the issue during a social media post in April.

As of May 7, 2025, all American citizens must have a Real ID in order to board domestic flights, as well as gaining access to certain federal facilities, according to the Department of Homeland Security website. Did you know that this law is actually 20 years old this year? (MORE NEWS: Hundreds Of Young People Accept Jesus Christ At US University)

“Passed by Congress in 2005, the REAL ID Act enacted the 9/11 Commission’s recommendation that the Federal Government “set standards for the issuance of sources of identification, such as driver’s licenses.” The Act established minimum security standards for state-issued driver’s licenses and identification cards and prohibits certain federal agencies from accepting for official purposes licenses and identification cards from states that do not meet these standards.”

These purposes, according to DHS, are:

• Accessing certain federal facilities
• Boarding federally regulated commercial aircraft
• Entering nuclear power plants

Lots of People Are Against Real ID …

… the idea of having to get yet another form of identification might sound like a pain for many people, but maybe there’s another reason it is being enforced so purposefully right now?

“This is an interesting take on REAL ID. Could be the actual point of it. I didn’t write this, but I thought it was worth forwarding,” Rich wrote in an X post shared Sunday.

Screenshot/x/johnrich

“‘REAL ID’ situation is the gateway to voter ID. Why? Because blue states have been handing out driver’s licenses to illegals, so a driver’s license is not secure enough to use as voter ID. A REAL ID requires confirmation of citizenship and residency, which would serve as a valid and secure form of ID, to ensure only US citizens are voting in US elections.

“My guess is, that in the future, everyone will need a REAL ID, or other proof of citizenship, in order to vote in US elections, which I 100% support,” the person continued, according to Rich. “Those claiming that this is some sort of Orwellian tracking operation or government overreach, I think is preposterous. We are already being tracked every second of every day via our cell phones, cars, devices, etc. REAL ID is necessary, because the Democrats made driver’s licenses obtainable by illegals in their states. REAL ID is the solution to a problem the Democrats created, so they can steal elections.”

The Debate

Many people in Rich’s comments argued that a Green Card could be used to get a REAL ID, which is apparently true in a handful, if not all states.

“ I love your stuff [John Rich] but have looked into this real id nonsense as a lawyer and can tell you that, regardless of its intent, the result will be a far worse situation than we already have on privacy,” replied Tom Renz. “The Constitution provides substantial limits on the government’s ability to track and trace its citizens but no such limits exist on private industry like big tech. The problem is that right now there are a lot of identity verification gaps with things online and that causes problems for government agencies when looking at law enforcement issues. This will close many of them.” (READ MORE: DOUBLE WIN: Mike Huckabee Confirmed As US Ambassador To Israel; Huckabee Sanders Brings ‘Creator’ To Arkansas Classrooms!)

He added that “this could be useful for limiting voter fraud but remember – what can be used for good can also be used for evil. In this case the same tool that could be used to verify your identity to help limit voter fraud could also verify the identity of a parent that learned to protest at a school board from one of their online groups… that parent and that group could easily then be targeted by a future corrupt administration or outcasted if cancel culture comes back (please don’t tell me it couldn’t).”

What Is The Truth?

The truth is probably more along the lines of what independent journalist and comedian Shawn Farash had to say on the matter:

Screenshot/x/shawn_farash

Farash later noted that:

Screenshot/x/shawn_farash

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