When Marine veteran Alex Morales went to a California DMV on December 18th, to renew his license, he was told to remove his hat before having his picture taken.
That did not sit well with Morales, especially since he noticed there were some men having their pictures taken, with turbans on their heads.
Morales refused to remove his USMC hat after being asked several times. Workers at the Bakersfield-area DMV asked Morales why he wouldn’t take it off. He said, if the others were permitted to wear headgear, then he should be too.
One of the DMV workers explained that the headdress they wore was part of their attire and religion. As far as he was concerned, though, USMC is as close to any religion as one can get, Morales responded. He swore an oath upon enlisting in the Corps — to “one nation under God.”
The workers were apparently stumped, so they called the folks in the state capital.
Morales waited an hour, and found out he won the battle. If a problem came up down the road, as a result of the photo, he was told he could appeal the decision. Alex said he most definitely would.
If anyone should be allowed to display headgear it is vets and active duty service members, he said. Several DMV employees clapped quietly for Alex as he left the building — hat still on.
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