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Hijab, Glasses, Hair, and Minnesota Driver's License Photos

Posted by Norski • 3/06/09 • Subscribe to this Discussion [RSS] • Report This Topic
Topics: Common Sense, driver's license, hijab, minnesota, photo id

This isn't political, I think: Minnesota seems to be going through a voyage of discovery, in which our lawmakers will discover that some new people moved in.

anotherwaronterrorblog.blogspot.com/2009/03/minnesota-hijab-drivers-license...

The idea was to make faces on driver's licenses recognizable. Too bad the lawmakers didn't think the bill through better.

Good news: We won't have to shave our heads.

So: How about where you live?

Are photo IDs part of the culture?

What are the restrictions on how you look in the photo?

Seriously: I'm curious. (And wouldn't mind a bit if you read that post of mine )

User Comments

3/06/09

timethief

I'm just a humble blogger. You are such an talented writer that you take my breath away. This is an outstanding piece that's so well researched and written that I'm going to stumble it.

[reply]
1. 3/06/09
  
  Norski
  
  I'm (almost) speechless. Thanks!
3/06/09

windroot

The state I live in is one of just four that do not require citizenship to get a drivers license. The legislature is considering changing that along with other changes to conform to the Real ID Act. So all these issues are going to be front and center this year.

I know this isn't exactly on topic, but here's is what I don't get: What is so bad about a national identity card? What am I missing here? Maybe you or someone else can enlighten me.

[reply]
1. 3/06/09
  
  Norski
  
  Citizenship isn't the issue here, at all. It's what's allowed in driver's license photos.
  
  What state are you from?
2. 3/06/09
  
  Norski
  
  You're right - national identity cards are a whole different issue. And, one which I'd hope will be approached with a tad more thought than this bit of legislation (before some alert Muslims got wind of it).
3/06/09

Anok

Our licensing (from what I can remember) just asks you to remove sunglasses, and hats for the photo. However headscarves for religious purposes are OK, if I remember right.

Kinda like the bank policies.

[reply]
1. 3/06/09
  
  Norski
  
  Sounds sensible.
  
  I think the 'headgear' issue is going to be thrashed out a bit more, here in Minnesota, but (happily) everyone seems to be trying to get a working set of rules. They're just coming at it from different angles.
3/07/09

hijabicouture

I look so differently with my hijab on than I do without it, that to require me to remove it for ID purposes would make me unrecognizable from how I walk about, outside of my house, defeating the point.

[reply]
1. 3/07/09
  
  Norski
  
  Good point - same for people who wear glasses, and haven't shaved their heads.
  
  I stopped shaving in the mid-seventies - happily, nobody's gotten the idea of mandated depilatories for licensed drivers in America.
3/07/09

lulubelleb

I wonder if I'd have to remove my wig. I've got a 3-inch skin graft over my left ear. Only my doctors and hairdresser see me without the wig.

Also, what about tinted contact lenses and dyed hair? Do you list your natural colors, or whatever you're walking around with the day of the photo?

[reply]
1. 3/07/09
  
  Anok
  
  I know in my state they ask you to remove tinted contacts and/or list your natural eye and hair color.
  
  But even still, they have my eye color listed incorrectly on my license. That's because my eyes change colors according to clothing and mood.