Driving is not a "right"

Lifting Veil for Photo ID Goes Too Far, Driver Says

MIAMI, June 26 -- A Muslim woman who says the state is violating her religious rights in demanding that she remove her veil for a driver's license photograph will be in court this week to try to regain her driving privileges.

So don't drive. I'm in California. All through driver's ed it was drilled into me that driving is not a right, it's a privilege granted by law. You need to meet certain criteria, obey a set of laws, etc. In Florida, you are required to submit a "full-face" photo for your driver's license. This lady refuses, ergo no license.

Where's the bad? Her attorneys are amusing.

"Are we suggesting that it's O.K. for any police officer to stop her and require her to remove her veil just so she can be identified?" said Randall Marshall, legal director in the Miami office of the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, which is helping to represent Ms. Freeman.

Well, actually, yes. Again, I can only speak from California law and experience, but it seems safe to assume that Florida operates much the same. If you get stopped for a traffic infraction you are required to show your driver's license. You do that for at least two reasons. 1) To demonstrate you have a license to drive. 2) As proof of identity. It's grounds for dismissal if you contest a citation and the officer who issued the ticket can't identify you as the one he gave the ticket to. In fact, it's part of the rap that you say, "I identified the driver with her valid California state driver's license."

But, he's even sillier:

He said the state's argument that "safety concerns" demanded full facial photos was "bogus," in part because his client had offered to provide fingerprints, DNA or other information that could be used to verify her identity.

I can only assume that this attorney is willing to have his client sit in jail pending the required tests, the ones necessary to confirm that the "fingerprints, DNA or other information" that she submits matches her? Last I heard, DNA testing took some time....

It's mentioned that other states don't require photographs for their licenses. Well, that's their bad, because the driver's license for many states is completely useless for identification purposes. I'll give you odds that those states are high on the list for forged licenses.

Again, it all boils down to rights. You have a right to practise the faith of your choice. You don't have a right to drive.