When it comes to the federal Real ID Act -- which calls for national standards for identification cards such as drivers licenses -- there are plenty of reasons to oppose it.
Chief among them are its ludicrous price tag (estimates range up to several billions), the privacy concerns of what many people believe is a de facto national ID card, and the impossible timeline for implementation (Congress will surely push back the May 2008 deadline, but probably only by a few years, which many believe would still be insufficient time to put these changes in place).
Oh, and the fact that some of the database technology required by the act doesn't exist yet.
Oh, and the fact that, though Real ID purports to fix some homeland security gaps, many people thinks its high-tech IDs wouldn't have stopped any of the 9/11 hijackers.
But here's a new reason: some Christian conservatives believe the Real ID Act is the first step toward the Bible's apocalyptic Book of Revelation:
Some Christians interpret verses from the book of Revelation that say humans will be "marked ... so that no one can buy or sell who does not have that mark" as a prophecy of a global numerical control system to be used by the beast, or antichrist. The number would be used during the Great Tribulation, which some Christians believe will precede the second coming of Jesus.
That St. Louis Post-Dispatch article goes on to say that some Missouri state legislators are listening, opposing Real ID in part because their constituents believe it's just plain evil.
So when it comes to opposing Real ID, apparently there's a whole (heavenly) host of reasons.
Zach Patton -- Executive Editor. Zach has written about a range of topics, including social policy issues and urban planning and design. Originally from Tennessee, he joined GOVERNING as a staff writer in 2004. He received the 2011 Jesse H. Neal Award for Outstanding Journalism
E-mail: zpatton@governing.com 
Written and compiled by staff writers and editors, GOVERNING View is an on-the-ground, and sometimes behind-the-scenes, look at the topics we're covering in print and online. From notes on what's up in statehouses, county courthouses and city halls, to encounters with people, places and things, GOVERNING View is a window into the side of state and local government you don't always see.
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