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After Long Fight, ‘Less Invasive’ Licenses Offered

By CARRA HIGGINS, StaffWriter

POSTED: August 11, 2008

Phil Hudok finally has a West Virginia driver's license. The state didn't revoke orsuspend the Randolph County resident'slicense. He chose to go without the valid ID until the state issued a licensewithout a digital picture stored in the state system.
After lobbying state government for said license, Hudok's and other'srequests were obliged by the Division of Motor Vehicles in mid July, accordingto Steve Dale, assistant to the Division of Motor Vehicles Commissioner. FridayHudok, Pastor Butch Paugh and Richard Paugh, members of the ChristianConservative group Call to Decisions Ministries, arrived in Charleston to receive their new IDs.
'We all have a responsibility,' Hudok said of his quest for theless invasive ID. 'I believe we need to heed the call and be a part of theworld we live in instead of riding the bus.'
'This is a government of the people. In order to have good government,people have to be involved.'
The licenses are identical to all other West Virginia residents, the only differenceis the digital photo will not be stored in the computer system, Dale said. TheDMV will store hard copies of the information on the license instead, accordingto Dale.
The new license stemmed from opposition to federal Real ID legislation andreligious convictions by Call to Decisions Ministries. For nearly three years,the group argued West Virginiashould oppose the federal mandate. In March, a few members of the ministrydiscussed their concerns about the Real ID with Division of Motor VehiclesCommissioner Joe Cicchirillo.
'I sincerely thank Senator (Clark) Barnes (R-15th District), Governor(Joe) Manchin, the Governor's Legislative Director Jim Pitrolo and DMVCommissioner Joe Cicchirillo for being responsive and considerate publicofficials,' Hudok said in a prepared statement. 'They haveexemplified what being a public servant is all about.'
The license is currently in a pilot stage, and therefore only available tomembers of the Call to Decisions Ministry, according to Steve Dale.
The DMV will gage response to the licenses and how well the program worksduring its test phase, Dale said. Because the DMV never planned to deletedigital photos from the program when it was created, a third party had tocreate the feature on the program, Dale explained.
Just how much the DMV spent on the program is currently unknown; however,Dale said cost should not be exorbitant. When the DMV does receive a bill forthe new programming, it could pass some of the cost to those who are issued thelicense by charging an additional fee, Dale said. Determining fees for thelicense is one of the issues the DMV is considering during the pilot phase,according to Dale.
The same day as the March meeting, opponents of the Real ID protested thelegislation at the Capitol building. Some signs at the demonstrationimplemented the Real ID as 'The Mark of the Beast.' Others signsalluded to federal government overstepping its boundary, which Hudok and ButchPaugh also believe.
During a March interview with The Inter-Mountain, Butch Paugh and Hudokdiscussed Call to Decisions' religious beliefs and why they oppose the Real ID.After pulling a 'Citizens Rule Book' from his shirt pocket, ButchPaugh read aloud highlighted and underlined portions of the Constitution andBill of Rights. Documents created by the founding fathers and BiblicalScripture guaranteed certain unalienable rights, according to Butch Paugh as heblended Christian beliefs with the rights of the Constitution.
'When evil men make bad laws, righteous men disobey them,' saysButch Paugh. The statement is also posted in bold letters on the Call toDecisions Ministry Website.
Also posted on the Web site is a letter written in 2005 to Cicchirillo. Inthe letter, Butch Paugh argues the Real ID violates not only his religiousbeliefs, but the Ninth and Tenth Amendments to U.S. Constitution.
'My Scripture-based convictions will not permit me to acquiesce inrestriction of my liberty,' Butch Paugh wrote. 'Myself and thousandsof others are being 'forced' to encounter this federal mandate because thecivil government has overstepped its lawful sphere of authority.'
Call to Decisions Ministries members believe the U.S. Constitution calls fora weak central government, Butch Paugh explained. It is up to the people toprovide the final check and balance of the three branches of government, ButchPaugh said. Hudok says people are the originators and owners of the government.
'Where do we draw the line,' Butch Paugh asked of federal laws.
The groups rebellion and opposition to a strong federal government isevident on their Web site. A Confederate flag is displayed to show theirsupport for states rights, the reason for the Civil War; an upside down U.S.flag, which means the country is in a time of distress; and the U.S. flag ofthe 13 colonies, to represent 'the nation America once was.'
The Real ID standards, set forth by the federal legislation for statedrivers' licenses and identification cards, include the person's full-legalname, date of birth, gender, license number or identification number, digitalphotograph, address of legal residence, signature, physical security featuresdesigned to prevent tampering, counterfeiting or duplication for fraudulentpurposes and a common machine-readable technology with defined datarequirements.
'The situation of an individual's biometric facial 'fingerprint' goinginto a crime database and the individual states being coerced into implementingthe Real ID is all about individual and state sovereignty,' Hudok said ina prepared statement. 'The federal government is a creation of thecolonies (states) and individuals are the sovereigns who make up thestates.'
IDs being issued to members of Call to Decisions Ministry are not compliantwith Real ID legislation, according to Dale. Therefore, because no digitalphoto is stored in a computer system Call to Decisions Ministry members will beunable to board airplanes or enter nuclear facilities, or anywhere elserequiring the Real ID, Dale explained. The ID will be accepted as a validdrivers license with agencies, such as police, Dale said.
If those with the ID want to purchase age regulated products, it will be upto the individual business as to accept the ID or not, according to Dale.
To date, West Virginiagovernment has not decided whether the state will not comply with the Real IDstandards. National Homeland Security recommended all states comply withnational specifications for drivers licenses and ID cards. All states areexpected to comply with the Real ID by 2014.
'In the grand scheme, I believe, at minimum, this is a speed bump in West Virginia inopposing the progression into a global police state,' Hudok said in aprepared statement.