San Francisco's non-I.D.

I swear, if it were not for San Francisco politicians, I would not laugh half as much as I do. They are always good for a chuckle.

Now they are pushing forward a plan to create a new "I.D." card for residents. Now, the first thing I think when I hear the word "I.D." is identification. But it appears than San Franciscan leaders believe that "I.D." should not be permitted to identify, as that might constitute some sort of "profiling".

So, this new I.D. would not include, for example, the bearer's gender. After all, far be it from San Francisco to want to put anyone in danger by identifying which sex they are!

On the surface, the diatribe they use to explain why gender should not be included makes a kind of sense, particularly in a city where the gender of so many residents is in question. By leaving gender off the I.D., the bearer would not be subject to "gender discrimination". Assuming, of course, that the gender is not obvious.

But let's look a bit deeper into the actual reality involved. Just about the only people who have any authority to ask to see ID are law enforcement personnel. Now, in a city like San Francisco, with its trans-sexuals, transvestites, hermaphrodites etc., any police office who has cause to arrest such a person will have no legal means by which to determine how the person should be treated. Not knowing if that "woman" is really a man, or vice versa, they risk being sued if they search, or frisk the person. They can be sued if they inadvertently put a woman in a cell with a man. And with so many San Franciscans so adept at costuming themselves and passing themselves off as something they are not, not being able to determine gender visually is a real problem.

The repercussions are staggering. In effect, the San Francisco non-I.D. would effectively prevent law enforcement from doing their jobs. The effect, of course, results in trans-gendered people receiving preferential treatment, or even protection from arrest, for fear of legal action against the police.

Of course, the San Francisco politicians stand by their bogus explanation as to why their new "I.D's" must be gender neutral. But the fact remains, we are what we are, and not calling a man a man does not change what he is. Feel free to bleach the spots off a leopard - it is still a leopard, and will devour you first chance it gets.

And if that leopard is sitting next to me, I damn well want to know about it!