Planned Billboard Angers Arab Americans

Thu Dec 15, 9:14 PM ET

RALEIGH, N.C. - A group that is trying to tighten the standards for obtaining driver's licenses has come under fire for plans to post a billboard with a picture of an Arab clutching a grenade and a North Carolina license.

"The message of the ad says that Arabs are dangerous and violent people and that therefore they should not get driver's licenses, and I think that is bigoted. It's racist," said Christine Saah Nazer, spokeswoman for the Washington-based Arab American Institute.

Amanda Bowman, president of the New York-based Coalition for a Secure Driver's License, which is launching the billboard campaign in North Carolina and two other states, said: "We're not going after Arab-Americans. We're going after terrorists."

The billboard, scheduled to go up this month near the state Capitol in Raleigh, shows a man in traditional Arab head scarf. The billboard reads: "Don't license terrorists, North Carolina." Similar billboards are planned for New Mexico and Wisconsin, the coalition said.

Bowman said North Carolina lags behind in efforts to tighten driver's license laws since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Fifteen of the terrorists involved in those attacks had multiple driver's licenses, she said, though none held North Carolina licenses.

Bowman complained that in North Carolina, drivers do not have to show proof that they are in this country legally.

An audit this summer of North Carolina's licensing process by the state found the state has much less strict licensing procedures than surrounding states. The report said that information provided by applicants is not double-checked and that easily forged documents are accepted as proof of residency in the state.

Ernie Seneca, spokesman for the North Carolina Department of Transportation, said the message behind the ad was "flat-out wrong, totally inaccurate and offensive." He said the department has addressed many of the issues raised in the audit.

Also, he said, a program implemented last year eliminated some forms of identification previously deemed acceptable, and all applicants now must show U.S.-issued or U.S.-validated documents to get a license.

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On the Net:

Coalition for a Secured Driver's License: http://www.securelicense.org/site/PageServer

Arab American Institute: http://www.aaiusa.org

North Carolina Department of Transportation: http://www.ncdot.org

American-Arab Anti Discrimination Committee: http://www.adc.org

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