Why do we consider the AMA Membership card to be a License? At one time, long ago, ASIR, it described itself as a license. Check over your expired cards - if you still have them. The membership card allows entry to AMA sanctioned contests, and it provides coverage for certain other purposes. Local officials sometimes accept that insurance and "assurance" that we will comply with AMA's safety and other guidance in considering whether to allow our activities on public property.
IMHO granting licenses should include some form of qualifying or testing. We've never had that for AMA Licenses or merely Membership cards.
BTW, not knocking AMA over this, it's just a semantic quirk...