To the Editor:

Today I spent about an hour and a half at the Schenectady County Department of Motor Vehicles applying for an Enhanced Driver’s License (EDL). It was the last day I could renew.

What I needed was several forms of identification. Among them were two residence IDs, a DD 214 [Discharge from Active Duty] ID, a W-2 [Wage and Tax Statement] ID, a Social Security ID, and the expiring New York State license ID.

Now why would I need an EDL? In order to board an airplane soon we will all need, as New York residents, to get on our knees for the permission of the state to “freely” travel in the United States. Without an EDL you will not be able to board a plane to visit your own country! We even need to pay ($100.50) to have that privilege!

There is something very, very wrong here.

There is absolutely no need for this as we all go through the TSA [Transportation Security Administration] checkpoints already.

This is plain and simple extortion!

William D. Wilday

Schenectady