Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, June 18, 1993 TAG: 9306180122
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUGLAS PARDUE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
A Floyd County woman has filed a federal lawsuit saying she could be subjected to "the mark of the beast" and God's displeasure if required to reveal her Social Security number in order to get a Virginia driver's license.
In a lawsuit filed in federal court in Roanoke, Alice Blankenship says the state's driver's license requirement is a violation of the constitutional rights to freedom of religion and privacy.
Blankenship, a Presbyterian, says she considers the Bible "a guideline for life." And, she says, the Bible spells out that God shows displeasure with people by numbering them, and shows approval by using their names.
"When people are important to you, you make a point of learning their names," she says. "You're given numbers in prison."
Her suit asks a federal judge for a temporary restraining order allowing her to drive without a Virginia driver's license until a full hearing can be held on an expanded lawsuit to be filed by herself and others.
Blankenship, a free-lance illustrator, says she moved to Floyd County from Georgia this month and was shocked to learn that she had to provide her Social Security number to get a driver's license. It's not required in Georgia, she says. In addition to her religious objections to providing her Social Security number, she says she considers it a "potential misuse of power" that could be "very intrusive" in a computer age.
In her suit, Blankenship says, she does not necessarily object to the Social Security number because it is an old law used for federal tax purposes. But Virginia is misusing the number for identification purposes even though her Social Security card specifically reads "not to be used for identification," the suit says.
The suit includes a list of Biblical references to illustrate why Blankenship and others "strongly believe that it is a sin of great significance for any of God's people, knowing His will on the matter, to allow themselves to be identified by a single number so that that number becomes synonymous with their name."
Among the passages listed is one reading that whenever God cursed his people he "numbered them with transgressors." Another reads "rejoice, because your names are written in heaven."
Earlier this year the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals ordered Virginia to either stop requiring people to reveal their Social Security numbers when they register to vote or stop publicly revealing voter registration lists that include Social Security numbers.
In that case the appeals court ruled that the practice subjected Virginians to a potential "profound invasion of privacy when exercising the fundamental right to vote."
Voter registration lists routinely are sold to candidates for office, political parties, elected officials and nonprofit groups to promote voting.
S. Strother Smith, Blankenship's Abingdon attorney, says he believes the voter registration ruling shows that requiring people to give Social Security numbers for other than federal tax reasons can result in an unconstitutional invasion of privacy.
The Virginia Citizen's Consumer Council, a consumer advocacy group, also wants the Social Security number removed as the driver's identification and is pushing for legislation to force change.
Jeanne Chenault, a spokeswoman for the Department of Motor Vehicles, says the state began using Social Security numbers as the driver's license number in 1972. She says that was done mainly as a cross-reference to internally check applicants' records to determine if they have suspended licenses in other states or are wanted criminally. Not all states use Social Security numbers on driver's licenses, but most criminal records include the number.
Chenault says the DMV does not publicly release or sell driver's license records. She concedes that driver's licenses are a commonly used form of identification. But, she says, it's "up to the individual whether they use it."
by CNB