ACLU Blasts Governor Henry Over Veto

By Dave Jordan, NEWS 9

OKLAHOMA CTIY -- A bill that would have prevented the government from tracking residents through a chip implanted in a driver's license has been vetoed by Governor Henry, much to the disappointment of the American Civil Liberties Union.

"We're disappointed by Governor Henry because this is a good bill," said Tamya Cox, legislative counsel for the ACLU of Oklahoma. "Tracking someone through their driver's license is a violation of privacy and the government has no right to do that."

House Bill 2569 was written by Moore Representative Paul Wesselhoft. The bill also had at least one democratic co-author.

"This bill passed in a bipartisan manner overwhelmingly by both chambers, and I even had democrat authors as co-authors of my bill," Wesselhoft said.

But Governor Henry's spokesman said the bill misrepresented the truth behind the technology.

"What this legislation does is just says we're not going to use this technology. Governor Henry thinks that doesn't make sense. It could provide benefits, and it just doesn't add up to ban it completely for the future," said Paul Sund, Gov. Henry's Spokesperson.

Sund also said no one's privacy is in jeopardy by the bill.

"DPS that administers these two forms of identification says there are no plans to use this to track people. That's just kind of a red herring that really is not a problem with this legislation," Sund said.

Wesselhoft said he will seek an override of Governor Henry's veto on Monday.

"I think that we'll have enough to override the veto," Wesselhoft said.

Sund said the governor spoke with several lawmakers about House Bill 2569. He said they didn't know what they were voting for and he's hoping they change their vote and support Henry's veto.