For the third time in the past two decades, Cayman Islands lawmakers have approved a motion in support of a national identification card system.
Government back bench MLA Alfonso Wright is hoping three times is a charm.
‘The national ID is something the legislature has talked about for some 20 years now,’ Mr. Wright said during the debate on his private member’s motion. ‘(It appears it was) a motion that government felt obliged to accept, but had no intention of doing anything about.’
Lawmakers admitted the Cayman Islands have a number of identification cards people carry such as voter registration cards, driver’s licences, passports, gun licences, work permit cards and the like.
However, it was noted that there are people who don’t carry any of those IDs.
‘Not everyone is 17, not everyone drives, not everyone votes,’ said government back bench MLA Osbourne Bodden.
Supporters of the motion said ID cards could have more functions than simply listing a person’s name and age for identification or security purposes. Information about a medical condition such as diabetes or a heart ailment could be included along with an emergency contact, for instance.
Advocates also said the measure would provide people who did not have a photo ID something they could use when making credit or debit card transactions at local stores.
The first time such a motion was debated in 1987, it was defeated. Opposition Leader McKeeva Bush was in the legislature at the time.
‘We made attempts to get such a system, and the first time we did it, we were called communists,’ Mr. Bush said.
However, in today’s world Mr. Wright said he doesn’t believe such a proposal remains as problematic as it would have been 20 years ago.
‘It’s not a motion that should create any controversy,’ he said.
The second time the ID card system was proposed in a private member’s motion was in 1989. A ‘voluntary’ ID card system was approved on a 13-1 vote of the Legislative Assembly. Lawmakers said the system was never implemented.
Back bench MLA Osbourne Bodden said Cayman’s population in the late 1980’s was around 24,000 to 25,000. He said comments were made at the time which inferred that police should know just about everyone on the island.
‘That argument was null and void then and even more null and void now,’ Mr. Bodden said. ‘We know we have youngsters out there who are drinking before the age of (18). It will at least be one more measure to curb them getting into premises.’
Mr. Wright also cited homeland security concerns as another reason national ID cards are needed.
‘It’s impossible these days to know everyone in Cayman,’ he said.
A third private member’s motion on the national ID system was brought to the legislature in 1994. The motion called for a mandatory national ID card. Again, it was passed, but legislation was never put in place.
Leader of Government Business Kurt Tibbetts said the People’s Progressive Movement government would consider implementing a national ID card system. However, he said it’s not as simple an issue as it might appear.
The first question is at what age people should get ID cards. Some lawmakers suggested as early as ten; others said the mandatory age should be 13.
Mr. Wright said ID cards would help teens who look younger than they are to get access to clubs or movies they might otherwise be prevented from entering. He said the cards would also prevent underage people from passing for legal age.
‘It is difficult to tell the difference between a 16-year-old and an 18-year-old,’ Mr. Wright said.
Another issue is whether the ID card would have to be obtained only by Caymanians, or whether every legal resident of the island would need to get one.
‘The movement of bodies in this country means we will have to extend the system beyond the citizens of this country,’ Mr. Tibbetts said.
Requirements for another ID card could be seen as onerous for work permit holders who already must have a work permit ID card, as well as a stamped passport, and in most cases a driver’s licence. However, Mr. Tibbetts said not all non-Caymanians must have a work permit ID.
‘Work permit holders, for instance, must have an ID, but permanent residents would not,’ he said. ‘And those permanent residents would not be on a voter’s list.’
‘It makes no sense…to (have a national ID system), and it only applies to certain people in society.’
Mr. Tibbetts also said penalties would have to be put in place for not getting a national ID card, if the system was to be made mandatory.
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