TRI In The News
'Mark of the Beast' Causing Legal Stir
9/28/2011
TRI IN THE NEWS: 'MARK OF THE BEAST' CAUSING LEGAL STIR
From One News Now
Original article available here.
The Rutherford Institute has filed suit to challenge Oklahoma's biometric photo requirement for drivers' licenses.
When Kaye Beach applied for renewal of her driver's license in March, she refused the required biometric photograph and wanted instead to be allowed to use a low-resolution photograph for her license, based on religious grounds. So a lawsuit has been filed against the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety (DPS) for not accommodating Beach's religious beliefs and for violating the Oklahoma Religious Freedom Act.
"The biometric photographs digitalize your face and then put all your information ... into a central computer which goes worldwide, which means it's like a facial scan, which means wherever you go, that becomes sort of your ID card," explains John Whitehead, founder of The Rutherford Institute. "Beach believes that's the mark of the beast in the Book of Revelation.
He says the applicant met all the other requirements for renewing her license, but DPS refused her request, insisting that state law does not provide alternatives or exemptions to the digitalized photos. But the effects of that go beyond Beach's capability to drive.
"Because she will not get this type of biometric photograph on her driver's license, she cannot get prescription medicines, use her debit card, rent a hotel, obtain a post office box, or drive a car," Rutherford points out. "The argument here, as most people know in the Book of Revelation, is that the mark of the beast won't let you buy, sell or move in society."
Atoorneys with Echols & Associates are working with the Institute in its defense of Beach's right to religious freedom.
