Eleven States Pose 'Severe' Threat to U.S. Security, Charges Coalition for a Secure Driver's License

Group Issues National Color-Coded Threat Assessment Map

Calls U.S. 'Only as Strong as its Weakest Link'

NEW YORK, March 29 -- U.S. citizens are at added risk of terrorist attacks because some states still have loopholes in their driver licensing laws that allow potential terrorists access to train and airplane travel, government buildings, gun permits, truck and van rentals, bank accounts, and a host of other terrorism tools and targets, the Coalition for a Secure Driver's License (CSDL) today charged. (www.securelicense.org)

At least fifteen of the nineteen 9/11 terrorists boarded airplanes that day using legally obtained driver's licenses, despite the fact that many of them were in this country unlawfully.

Those licenses were granted because the licensing requirements in the states that issued them were too lax, the CSDL said.

The good-government, non-profit organization, composed of 9/11 family members and other alarmed citizens, made its announcement at a news conference overlooking the former World Trade Center site, where it released a national color-coded map, detailing its threat-assessment state-by-state, using the now-familiar categories of "Severe", "High", "Elevated", "Guarded", and "Low."

"The driver's license has become the defacto identification card in the United States," said Michelle Bouchard, a CSDL board member and spokesperson. "It is a powerful tool that opens the door to places we must not allow terrorists to enter."

The worst offending states ("severe risk"), according to the CSDL, are Hawaii, Illinois, Michigan, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Tennessee, Utah, Washington, and Wisconsin.

The best states ("low risk"), according to the CSDL, are Arizona, Florida, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, South Carolina, South Dakota, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming. Washington, D.C. is also identified as "low risk."

"The U.S. is only as secure as its weakest link," explained Ms. Bouchard. "An Illinois driver's license in the hands of a terrorist gives him as much access to potential targets in New York or Los Angeles as in Springfield or Chicago. Driver's license security must be a priority in every state in America."

The CSDL specifically praised New Jersey and Virginia at the news conference for the work they did to tighten driver's license requirements after the 9/11 attacks.

"Many of the 9/11 terrorists carried New Jersey or Virginia licenses, which used to be easy to obtain or forge," Ms. Bouchard noted. "Now those states have among the tightest licensing requirements in the nation because their state legislators used common sense and acted. They should be commended and serve as role models for state legislators across America."

* The 50-state color-coded map, and the CSDL criterion for rankings, can

be downloaded for publication at www.securelicense.org.