14th Amendment Document With Travel Without License In New York
Description
Form popularity
FAQ
Is it constitutional for the government to require a license to drive? There's nothing in the US Constitution giving the Federal government any right to license drivers.
A: If you're going to operate a motor vehicle on public roads, you need a license, insurance and vehicle registration. You have a right to travel, but doing it in a motor vehicle on public roads is a privilege and the government regulates that.
There is no explicit or enumerated right to travel in the US Constitution. It is, however, considered to be a Ninth Amendment right, similar to the right to vote and the former right to abortion.
If you are driving, then you always need to carry a driver's license while operating a vehicle. Therefore, if you are moving between states by driving, you will need to have your license. However, the driver's license is not necessary to the right to travel.
However, traveling does not equate to driving. In the Constitution's view, travel refers to moving freely between states, not the unlicensed operation of a vehicle. This point was strongly reinforced in Saenz v. Roe (1999), rejecting the belief in an absolute, unrestricted freedom.
It's a little more complex than that. The Supreme Court has ruled that there is a fundamental right to travel between the states, and you do not need a drivers license to do so.
All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.
357 U. S. 117-130. (a) The right to travel is a part of the "liberty" of which a citizen cannot be deprived without due process of law under the Fifth Amendment. Pp. 357 U. S. 125-127.
The constitutional right to interstate travel is considered a fundamental right. But it is also an unenumerated right, meaning it is not explicitly stated in the Constitution. Instead, the Supreme Court established the right to travel based on its interpretation of several constitutional provisions.
