A Muslim woman who refused to lift her veil for a drivers
license photograph on religious grounds last year is suing the state of Florida
again.
A lawyer for Sultaana Freeman, 35, on Wednesday filed a civil lawsuit after the
state's Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles refused to issue her a
state identification card.
She first sued when her drivers license was revokedin 2001 because she would
not uncover her face for a new license. At the time she had a license with her
veil. But after Sept. 11, 2001,in a security crackdown, the state tightened
requirements for getting a license and demanded full-face photos.
Freeman, an American-born converted Muslim who lives in Winter Park, refused
because she wears a niqab, an Islamic veil that shields all of her face except
her eyes. She and her lawyer argue that her rights are being violated because
her religion demands modesty in dress and appearance.
Howard Marks, Freeman's lawyer, said Freeman cannot drive and relies on her
husband and friends for rides. Freeman sought an ID card last October in part
to be able to write checks and have identification. Instead, Freeman carries a
birth certificate, her Social Security card and a court order detailing her
name change.
"It's making her life difficult; more difficult than it needs to be,"
said Marks, who filed the suit in Orange County.
Marks argues that Florida statutes don't require a photograph on an ID card and
that the government's stand is unconstitutional.
However, state officials say agency rules prevent them from issuing cards with
photographs of covered faces. That administrative guideline states, "Any
person 12 years of age or older . . . may be issued a color photographic
identification card."
"The agency interprets this rule as requiring a full-face photo,"
wrote Jason Vail, an assistant attorney general in Tallahassee, after Freeman
was denied a state ID card.
Freeman's case illustrates the nation's need to balance post-Sept. 11 security
concerns against the civil liberties of minorities. Her original lawsuit, which
seeks the reinstatement of her drivers license with a veil, drew national
attention. It is scheduled for trial in April.
Marks has suggested the state use other methods of identification, such as
fingerprinting or eye scanning, to identify people such as Freeman.