The Can Opens

And another worm wiggles free.

An Alberta court has ruled that the law requiring a photo be taken for the purpose of drivers license identification violates the religious beliefs of Hutterites and is unconstitutional. (No link available yet)

Next up:

Via Canadian radio talk host John Gormley, whose callers were quick to point out that they don’t seem to have any religious objection to having their images captured by surveillance video at Wal-Mart.

FILED UNDER: Religion, US Constitution, , ,
Kate McMillan
About Kate McMillan
Kate McMillan is the proprietor of small dead animals, which has won numerous awards including Best Conservative Blog and Best Canadian Blog. She contributed nearly 300 pieces to OTB between November 2004 and June 2007. Follow her on Twitter @katewerk.

Comments

  1. Dave Schuler says:

    I wonder how long it will be before the U. S. stops recognizing Canadian drivers’ licenses.

  2. If I remember correctly, in the film Lawrence of Arabia, the character played by Anthony Quinn refused to allow his picture to be taken for fear that it would take his soul or some such primitive belief.

    I’m surprised it has taken this long to surrender.

  3. John Burgess says:

    Even the Saudis require full-face, unveiled photos of women for official documents. Those include passports and ID cards; of course drivers licenses aren’t on the schedule yet.

    US Immigration also requires full-face, unveiled photos, so the Hutterite women will have to come up with something if they’re traveling to the US.

  4. LJD says:

    They should be given the option of having a microchip implanted in the back of their neck. I wonder what objections that would raise?

  5. Dave Schuler says:

    My point, John, is that we currently have a reciprocal agreement on drivers licenses with Canada. Unless specific action is taken that won’t automatically evaporate.