Headscarves

The Wall Street Journal had an interesting article on April 5, 2010, discussing President Sarkozy’s push in France to enact a ban on the Muslim veil. Peter Berkowitz, Can Sarkozy Justify Banning the Veil?, Wall Street Journal, Apr. 5, 2010, available here. Interestingly, several states, including Oklahoma (H.B. 1645) and Minnesota (N.F. No. 989), have defended rules or proposed laws that would require individuals to remove religious head coverings as a condition to receiving a driver’s license photograph. In response, groups have proposed an amendment to the PASS ID Act (S. 1261) that would explicitly protect the “right” of individuals to wear religious head coverings without removal or modification in a driver’s license and other identification photographs. The version of the PASS ID Act recently reported from the Senate’s Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs provides that “religious headgear is acceptable as long as the face is not obscured.” S. Rep. No. 111-104 (2009), available here. For more information on the PASS ID Act, including news and blog coverage, click here.