ORLANDO, Fla. - Granting a Muslim woman the right to keep her face veiled for her driver's license photo could allow potential terrorists to hide their identities, attorneys for the state of Florida argued Thursday.
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Attorneys made closing arguments in the lawsuit filed by Sultaana Freeman, who contends the state's refusal to allow her to remain veiled for her license photo violates her religious freedom.
"This court cannot make this decision in a legal vacuum. The sad fact is our country, our society, is under assault by puritanical religious zealots," said Assistant Attorney General Jason Vail. "If you hold for the plaintiff, someday a man will present himself to a driver's license office and demand a driver's license without a photo based upon his religious conviction.
"We may have to give it to him but we will not know if his objectives are sincere and peaceful or if they're terrible until it is too late," Vail said.
Freeman's lawyers told Circuit Judge Janet Thorpe that state officials objected to their client's face being covered only after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, an allegation the state denies.
Freeman, 35, had a Florida license that showed her veiled, with only her eyes visible, but the state revoked it after several months when she refused to have her picture taken without the head covering.
"She wants to drive. She needs to drive to take care of family needs," said Howard Marks, an American Civil Liberties Union (news - web sites) attorney representing Freeman. "But she isn't going to violate a fundamental religious belief."
After the hearing, Freeman complained that without a license, she can't even drive to the store to buy diapers for her 6-month-old son.
"It's just little things like that," she said. "I veil to obey my Lord. It's an act of modesty. It reduces issues of vanity."
Vail argued that having an easily identifiable photo on a license is a matter of public safety because it is used during traffic stops and for business transactions.
He also said Islamic law has exceptions that allow women to expose their faces if it serves a public good, and that arrangements could be made to have Freeman photographed with only women present to allay her concerns about modesty.
Thorpe said she would rule on the case by next week.
