ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, February 12, 1996 TAG: 9602130092
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A8 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: SANTA ANNA, CALIF.
SOURCE: CAROL McGRAW ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
THE SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION has issued a couple's daughter the number 666.
Eric and Maria Bessem gave their daughter Katrina the middle name Hope - as a symbol of Christian godliness.
The Social Security Administration has given Katrina the number 666 - the biblical mark of the beast.
``If it were a lottery number, I could care less, but this is something that is very personal, something she will have for 85 years,'' said Maria Bessem, of Anaheim Hills, Calif. ``According to the Bible, Christians are supposed to refuse the mark of the beast.''
The 666 reference is found in Revelation 13:18.
The biblical prophecy tells of a beast with ``two horns like a lamb'' that arises from the earth, speaks like a dragon and causes every person to receive the mark on the forehead or on the right hand.
The number is a gigantic headache for the Social Security Administration and other entities that issue identifying numbers - license plates, bank accounts, ZIP codes, phone numbers.
Some agencies have programmed their computers to avoid the number. Others, such as the Social Security Administration, have drawn a line in the sand.
The Bessems' headache began when they applied for a card for 10-month-old Katrina.
Maria Bessem, 30, is a pharmaceutical representative, and husband Eric, 31, is an electrician. They have one other child, Kelly. They all have ``normal'' Social Security numbers.
When Maria Bessem received the card, she immediately called the Social Security hot line to demand a new number. They refused.
``Everyone knows what that number means,'' she said. ``Remember the movie `The Omen' and how 666 was carved on Damien's head?''
Others agree.
``This is just another way the government tries to blow the socks off religious freedom,'' said Brad Dacus, Western regional coordinator of the Rutherford Institute, a civil-liberties organization specializing in religious freedom. ``The government has an obligation under the Constitution to accommodate religious beliefs and practices of its citizens.''
Officials at the Social Security Administration, however, say the agency is on firm legal ground.
Before September 1994, card holders could change their numbers for religious, cultural or even superstitious reasons. Numbers containing 666 and 13 made up the bulk of such requests.
But in recent years, so many people requested new numbers that the agency changed its regulations, according to Lowell Kepke, regional Social Security spokesman in San Francisco.
``This change in our regulations does not discriminate on the basis of religion,'' Kepke said. ``Our attorneys have determined that by not recognizing religion, culture or superstition as a basis for assigning a number, we would be treating all individuals equally.''
Other organizations that hand out numbers, including the state Department of Motor Vehicles, say they try to accommodate their customers. The DMV tries to weed out any 666 numbers before license plates are handed out.
The Bessems have decided to seek legal help. Eric Bessem said, ``I'm not a religious fanatic, but I'm not going to claim Katrina on my 1995 taxes even though I could use the money, having just moved into a new house.
``The number is as offensive to me as if an African-American were given a KKK on their card or a Jewish person had to have a swastika.''
Maria Bessem said she has not talked to any priests about her predicament. ``I see it more as my own personal problem,'' she said. Besides, she noted that they just moved to a new neighborhood, and have not yet had time to attend their new parish, San Antonio Catholic Church.
The church phone number?
It's 974-2666.
LENGTH: Medium: 76 linesby CNB