Ritter tosses driver’s license bill - Article - CAIR - Colorado Alliance for Immigration Reform - concerning environmental and U.S. sustainability, mass immigration, U.S. population stabilization

Ritter tosses driver’s license bill

By Lynn Bartel, Rocky Mountain News

June 1, 2007

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5566111,00.html

Gov. Bill Ritter today vetoed six bills, including a measure that critics said would have made it easier for illegal immigrants [illegal aliens] to obtain a Colorado driver’s license.

Ritter said it is up to the administration and not the legislature to fix problems at the Division of Motor Vehicles, which last year adopted such stringent rules that legitimate Coloradans were unable to get driver’s licenses or photo ID cards.

Ritter said the state on Thursday formally adopted new rules that expand the types of documents the state will accept in order to issue a driver’s license but don’t compromise security....

House Bill 1313 would have made it it easier to get a Colorado driver’s license by expanding the list of documents a person could use to prove residency and citizenship.

Supporters said the bill was necessary because the DMV has made it difficult for lawful citizens — especially the homeless, senior citizens and children of immigrants born in the country — to obtain a license or photo ID.

But critics, including Republican Secretary of State Mike Coffman and former Democratic Gov. Dick Lamm, urged Ritter to veto the measure. They said it undercut efforts to curb illegal immigration, identity theft and terrorist threats.

"I think the governor absolutely made the right move in vetoing it," Coffman said.

But he said his concern now is making sure that the rules the state approved Thursday don’t go to far.

Rep. Rosemary Marshall, D-Denver, who sponsored House Bill 1313, was disheartened by the veto.

"I’m extremely disappointed that the anti-immigration zealots managed to get their voices heard over the citizens of Colorado," she said. [CAIR note - she means anti-ILLEGAL immigration advocates].

Ritter said he understood why legislators and others pushed for House Bill 1313. And he blamed his own adminstration for not "clearly and consistently articulating my strongly-held belief that a legislative fix is not the proper remedy to this problem."...

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