A 22-year veteran kindergarten teacher in the Texas Bible Belt could lose her job for refusing, on religious grounds, to give fingerprints under a state law requiring them.

The evangelical Christian, Pam McLaurin, is fighting a looming suspension, claiming that fingerprinting amounts to the "Mark of the Beast," and hence is a violation of her First Amendment right to practice her religion. Her case is similar to a lawsuit by a group of Michigan farmers, some of them Amish, challenging rules requiring the tagging of livestock with RFID chips, saying the devices are also the devil's mark.

The latest case is the first in which a teacher is refusing fingerprinting on religious grounds, the woman's lawyer said. The U.S. Supreme Court has yet to decide whether the First Amendment is implicated in fingerprinting, especially at a time when states, local governments and civic organizations are increasingly making them mandatory for anyone wanting to drive a car or coach a youth basketball team.

McLaurin's lawsuit against the Texas Education Agency cites various passages of Revelation, the final book of The Bible:

He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand and on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.… Then a third angel followed them saying with a loud voice – if anyone worships the beast and his image and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God.… He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.

Her attorney, Scott Skelton, said his client believes that the computerized fingerprinting, in which her fingerprints will be stored in a database, is the mark addressed in Revelation. The teacher does not believe that it is merely coincidence that Revelation says only those with the 'mark on his forehead or on his hand' will be able to buy or sell, since only those teachers who comply with fingerprinting requirements will keep their jobs, he said.

"This law prohibits the free exercise of her religion," Skelton said in a telephone interview.

The Big Sandy Independent School District, where the woman teaches, is located about 100 miles northeast of Houston. Wayne Haglund, the school district's lawyer, described McLaurin is a "valued member of the faculty and one of the best teachers we have."

"The school district's position is fully supportive of Mrs. McLaurin," Haglund continued in a telephone interview. "We're caught in the crossfire. We believe her religious beliefs are sincerely held."

Haglund said the Texas Education Agency informed him it would deactivate her teacher certification if she does not comply. She has until Nov. 7, Skelton said.

Texas lawmakers approved the fingerprinting measure in 2007 in a bid, Skelton said, "to catch somebody with a criminal background or a history of preying on children."

"She's willing to undergo a background check," Skelton said, "just not fingerprinting."

Photo: wehauntyou/Flickr

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