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I'm not the one claiming you have a RIGHT to a home, or a car, or to drive. In fact, the right to travel is found under MARITIME law. You're born with the right to life--but the state can take that away, liberty--but the state can take that away, and the pursuit of happiness. You don't think the state can take that away from you too?
You're using circular logic. "I have the right to travel...driving is a means to travel, so that means I have the right to drive!!" No. It's not explicit. In fact, if you were to walk into the DMV today, they would tell you that you do not have the right to drive; you are granted the privilege of driving. The state government does NOT have to license you to drive if it chooses not to. It can also revoke said privilege as it sees fit. That means it's not a right.
Why do you think you have to carry a license at all times? It's to validate the privilege that was granted to you. If you had the "right" to drive, licenses would be moot.
You're using circular logic. "I have the right to travel...driving is a means to travel, so that means I have the right to drive!!" No. It's not explicit. In fact, if you were to walk into the DMV today, they would tell you that you do not have the right to drive; you are granted the privilege of driving. The state government does NOT have to license you to drive if it chooses not to. It can also revoke said privilege as it sees fit. That means it's not a right.
Why do you think you have to carry a license at all times? It's to validate the privilege that was granted to you. If you had the "right" to drive, licenses would be moot.
Absolutely wrong. There is no way you could possibly be more wrong, and it is shameful that so Americans are fed this lie over and over again until they believe it.
The DMV does NOT have the authority to "grant the privilege" of driving. They are obliged to recognize the right to drive, provided you, for reasons of public safety and order, meet established criteria of competency and eligibility. The government can never, never, never "choose not to" issue a drivers license, if the minimum statuatory criteria are met by the applicant. And the state cannot revoke an existing license "if it sees fit", but only if, after due process, you are found by the courts to be ineligible.
The reason for licensing drivers is to show evidence that you have the competency to drive safely, and to prove who you are in the event you are found liable for property damage or traffic code violations. They are NOT to show that you have been granted a privilege.
Why do you think we have traffic courts, if the DMV can simply deny your privilege to drive? Because it takes due process to deprive you of your rights.
Your competency would not matter if it was a RIGHT.
Choosing a career is a right, not a privilege. Correct so far? But I can't drill teeth unless I demonstrate that I am competent at dentistry.
Or are you going to tell me that an American does not have a right to be a WalMart greeter, that is a privilege that the government can grant on a whim.
But a WalMart greeter can do relatively little harm compared to a guy with big dental tools, so in the interest of public safety, certain professions (and other potentially damaging activities) require licensure.
I'm not sure I'd consider choosing a career a right. You don't have a right to do things that require someone to verify you are competent to do so just because you WANT to. You still need that certification.
The privilege is granted by a) licensing boards or b) the company doing the hiring. There is nothing saying that a company MUST hire you. You don't have a RIGHT to have a job.
Absolutely wrong. There is no way you could possibly be more wrong, and it is shameful that so Americans are fed this lie over and over again until they believe it.
The DMV does NOT have the authority to "grant the privilege" of driving. They are obliged to recognize the right to drive, provided you, for reasons of public safety and order, meet established criteria of competency and eligibility. The government can never, never, never "choose not to" issue a drivers license, if the minimum statuatory criteria are met by the applicant. And the state cannot revoke an existing license "if it sees fit", but only if, after due process, you are found by the courts to be ineligible.
The reason for licensing drivers is to show evidence that you have the competency to drive safely, and to prove who you are in the event you are found liable for property damage or traffic code violations. They are NOT to show that you have been granted a privilege.
Why do you think we have traffic courts, if the DMV can simply deny your privilege to drive? Because it takes due process to deprive you of your rights.
Dude, I want you to look up your state's Vehicle Code. That's the law. Inside, I want you to find any of them that state clearly that driving is a RIGHT. None of this "it doesn't say it's not, so it is!!" circular crap. I want you to show me a clear portion of the Vehicle Code that grants you the RIGHT to drive.
Let me help you by showing you some results from California's Vehicle Code:
Originally Posted by CA Department of Motor Vehicles
14607.4. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following: (a) Driving a motor vehicle on the public streets and highways is a privilege, not a right.
(b) Of all drivers involved in fatal accidents, more than 20 percent are not licensed to drive. A driver with a suspended license is four times as likely to be involved in a fatal accident as a properly licensed driver.
(c) At any given time, it is estimated by the Department of Motor Vehicles that of some 20 million driver's licenses issued to Californians, 720,000 are suspended or revoked. Furthermore, 1,000,000 persons are estimated to be driving without ever having been licensed at all.
(d) Over 4,000 persons are killed in traffic accidents in California annually, and another 330,000 persons suffer injuries.
(e) Californians who comply with the law are frequently victims of traffic accidents caused by unlicensed drivers. These innocent victims suffer considerable pain and property loss at the hands of people who flaunt the law. The Department of Motor Vehicles estimates that 75 percent of all drivers whose driving privilege has been withdrawn continue to drive regardless of the law.
(f) It is necessary and appropriate to take additional steps to prevent unlicensed drivers from driving, including the civil forfeiture of vehicles used by unlicensed drivers. The state has a critical interest in enforcing its traffic laws and in keeping unlicensed drivers from illegally driving. Seizing the vehicles used by unlicensed drivers serves a significant governmental and public interest, namely the protection of the health, safety, and welfare of Californians from the harm of unlicensed drivers, who are involved in a disproportionate number of traffic incidents, and the avoidance of the associated destruction and damage to lives and property.
(g) The Safe Streets Act of 1994 is consistent with the due process requirements of the United States Constitution and the holding of the Supreme Court of the United States in Calero-Toledo v. Pearson Yacht Leasing Co., 40 L. Ed. 2d 452.
I'm willing to wager that your state has something identical in its Vehicle Code. I'm also willing to wager that even if it doesn't, it's what you were taught.
–noun
1. a right, immunity, or benefit enjoyed only by a person beyond the advantages of most:
State legislators, in order to give themselves more power, routinely call it a privilege, but they know that if they treated it as such, their law would be unconstitutional and overturned in a minute. None have ever been challenged, because they have never been applied.
Show me one single case, in any state, where an applicant was arbitrarily, without due or just cause, denied the "privilege" to drive. It has never happened, because it is recognized as a right, and they know that if they ever tried to arbitrarily deny the privilege, they would get their butt sued off.
Legislators can call it whatever they want, but the simple fact is that every American has a right o drive, to hunt, to fish, to vote, to drill teeth, and it is unconstitutional to deny those rights without just cause. However, like everything else, the state is empowered to make reasonable regulations, which can include licensure, to protect the public interest.
If driving was a privilege, no black driver would have been licensed in southern states in the 1950s. But there were plenty of licensed black drivers, because it was recognized as a right, and even southern states knew that they could not deny blacks the "privilege" of driving, and if they thought they could have, they sure as hell would have. The right to drive was recognized even where the right to vote was not.
Boating is a good example. Everyone has a right, without a license or permit, to use a boat to access public waters. But there is a license required if the boat is motorized. That does not make it any less of a right, it just subjects it to a new broader set of regulations, in place to protect the public interest.
Why put an expiration on it? Mine has expired, and I would have to take time out of my day to renew it. But I don't drive--no desire, no NEED. But if someone wants to verify my identity, that's where they look. My driver's license. Why anyone NEEDS to verify my identity is beyond me.
My license has been suspended before--they claimed I did not pay a fine. What does that have to do with the ABILITY to drive? Is that truly "just cause"? No--but they did so anyhow. Because it is a PRIVILEGE, not a RIGHT.
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