BY MEG WAGNER
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Wednesday, October 28, 2015, 9:30 AM
An Amish man claims that the photo identification needed to purchase a gun violates both his religious freedom and his constitutional right to bear arms
An Amish Pennsylvania man who wants to buy a gun says the photo ID required to do so violates his religious beliefs.
Andrew Hertzler, whose Amish faith prevents him from being photographed, is suing the federal government claiming that the photo identification needed to purchase a weapon violates both his religious freedom and his constitutional right to bear arms.
Hertzler, of Lancaster County, said he tried to buy a gun in June for self-defense, but the dealer turned him down. His state-issued ID lacked a photo, and was not enough identification, according to the lawsuit.
“Mr. Hertzler confronts Hobson’s choice: either forego his constitutional right to keep and bear arms in defense of himself and his home, or violate his religion,” a copy of the lawsuit suit obtained by the Washington Post read.
Amish faith forbids worshipers from having their pictures taken for any reason, citing the Biblical passage Exodus 20:4: “You shall not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.”
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. Middle District Court, names a slew of defendants: the federal government, U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch, FBI Director James B. Comey and officials from the Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms and Explosives.
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