A Los Angeles judge ordered the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles to accommodate the concerns of five men who want to apply for driver’s licenses without providing their Social Security numbers as required. The men object to Social Security numbers on religious grounds, saying they may be the “mark of the beast” mentioned in the Bible’s Book of Revelations.
In her decision, issued in mid-October, Superior Court Judge Diane Wayne said the DMV can find another method for identification that accommodates the men’s “sincerely held religious convictions … that anyone who uses his or her Social Security number is in danger of not receiving eternal life.”
The Bible identifies the “number of the beast” as 666, but also talks about a “mark of the beast,” which some Bible scholars believe could be a numbering system that will eventually be used to control all world commerce.
Deputy District Attorney Angela Sierra said the ruling will be appealed. She argued that the state has a compelling interest in requiring Social Security numbers for identification in driver’s license requirements, including making it easy to locate parents who are delinquent in child support.
— E.P. News
