{"id":30777,"date":"2016-12-23T14:56:08","date_gmt":"2016-12-23T19:56:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sidebarforplaintiffs.naomifein.net\/?p=30777"},"modified":"2016-12-23T14:56:08","modified_gmt":"2016-12-23T19:56:08","slug":"a-really-bad-or-good-drivers-license-photo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sidebarforplaintiffs.naomifein.net\/?p=30777","title":{"rendered":"A really bad–or good?–driver’s license photo"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n
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From Kevin Underhill’s Lowering the Bar. With several compelling photos. Ho ho ho! (BIG belly laugh.) Let’s all thank Kevin for our holiday gift.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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Pagan Allowed to Wear Horns in License Photo<\/em><\/h2>\n

Dec 22, 2016 05:30 am | Kevin<\/em><\/h4>\n

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\"\"Phelan Moonsong says he always wears his goat horns unless he\u2019s sleeping or bathing, and so it makes sense that he\u2019d want to wear them in his driver\u2019s license photo. How else is an\u00a0officer, TSA employee, or other license checker supposed to recognize him? Plus, the horns serve as his \u201cspiritual antennae\u201d and help him educate others about paganism, according to Moonsong.<\/em><\/p>\n

He needed to educate the authorities in Maine a little bit before they\u2019d approve the license photo, but\u00a0they finally did. He got his new license last week.<\/em><\/p>\n

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<\/a>Moonsong told The Wild Hunt<\/a>, a neo-pagan news journal, that he changed his name in June (it may not surprise you to learn \u201cPhelan Moonsong\u201d isn\u2019t his birth name) and so needed a new ID. So in August, off he went to the DMV. \u201cHe stood in line with other residents,\u201d the report says, \u201cwho asked Moonsong about the significance of his horns.\u201d I imagine they did.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Pan<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The clerk also had some questions, like whether the horns were implanted (they aren\u2019t), and whether they were a religious symbol (they are). The clerk took the photo, but then said he\u2019d have to get it approved by the Maine Secretary of State\u2019s office, and would need to send some documentation of the fact that these are officially required religious symbols.<\/em><\/p>\n

There is no \u201cofficial\u201d pagan governing body or doctrine, of course, but Moonsong wrote a personal essay on why the horns are important to him, explaining their historical and religious significance. The report cited a number of sources for this, none of which I had on my shelf but I was able to find the paper \u201cHorned Gods: A Comparative Mythology Perspective<\/a>\u201d online. There is no shortage of horned gods, it turns out, assuming you\u2019re not partial to monotheism.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Photo courtesy of Phelan Moonsong<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Moonsong says he\u2019s a priest of Pan, which would explain this getup here. Well, the resemblance isn\u2019t that close, I guess, but the horns are kind of similar. You might mistake him for a nature spirit if he were leaping about in the brush, although the blue hair isn\u2019t exactly traditional, if that\u2019s the right word here.<\/em><\/p>\n

Apparently his essay didn\u2019t do the trick, because he didn\u2019t hear anything for a while, and when he called to check he was told his horns wouldn\u2019t be allowed in the photo. He then seems to have visited the office personally, horns and all, and mentioned that he was seeking legal help. Whether that made the difference or not, the horns were approved shortly thereafter.<\/em><\/p>\n

According to an expert the\u00a0Washington Post<\/a>\u00a0spoke with, state officials will generally accommodate requests like this, even if they may be less sincere than Moonsong\u2019s, unless the religious garb covers the face and so would defeat the purpose of identification. Muslims are allowed to wear headscarves, Sikhs can wear turbans, and even some Pastafarians have been allowed<\/a>\u00a0to wear their colanders.\u00a0(Not all of them, though<\/a>).<\/em><\/p>\n

Moonsong told the Post that one of the benefits of his new ID is that he\u2019ll be able to fly to California, where he says some of the best pagan festivals are. So I assume his next battle will be with the TSA. He\u2019s got ID now, but they\u2019ll surely be concerned he might try to butt his way into the cockpit if allowed to wear his horns on board.<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From Kevin Underhill’s Lowering the Bar. With several compelling photos. Ho ho ho! (BIG belly laugh.) Let’s all thank Kevin for our holiday gift. Pagan Allowed to Wear Horns in License Photo Dec 22, 2016 05:30 am | Kevin Phelan … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[337],"tags":[1227],"class_list":["post-30777","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-legal-news","tag-drivers-licenses"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t