Phil Carrasco believes giving driver’s licenses to immigrants is a human rights issue (Dec. 7). What part of illegal doesn’t he understand? Even if his points have economic validity, what’s missing is his understanding of what’s a right and what’s a privilege.
A driver’s license is not a right, it’s a privilege. If it were a right the state wouldn’t be able to deny it to those who lose their driver’s license because of DUII convictions or failure to pay child support — those groups also need to support their families.
If one group is allowed to break the law it stands to reason that people could pick and choose the laws they believe to be unjust. Examples could be not stopping at a red light or not paying property taxes due to inadequate coverage by the sheriff’s department.
The reason we have laws is to avoid anarchy. If a law seems unjust there are proper ways to change it (such as in the November 2014 election). If the law’s changed for immigrants it would imply that a driver’s license is a right, not a privilege — which by definition would mean the privilege couldn’t be rescinded for DUIIs or for those who are behind in their child support payments.