NEW YORK: Governor Christine Gregoire of Washington State has promised immediate action to ensure that Sikhs will receive valid driving licenses, without restrictions on their turbans.The assurance comes in the wake of discussions between the Governor's office and Department of Licensing officials with United Sikhs and the Gurdwara Singh Sabha of Washington on the discrimination against Sikhs in the issuing of driver's licenses.

The Sikh advocacy group approached the Governor's office after three Sikhs -- Salwinder S. Atwal, Kundan Singh, and Gurpreet Singh of Washington State were issued driver's licenses that were "Not Valid for Identification".They will now be receiving driver's licenses that are valid for identification including pictures with their turbans as they are normally worn.

The three Sikh gentlemen had in the last two months, sought to renew their driver's licenses, but were asked to remove their turbans or to lift them so that their hairline and ears were visible. Despite repeated explanations by them that the turban is worn for religious reasons and is part of their everyday appearance, Department of Licensing officials continued to state that Washington regulations required the hairline and ears to remain visible in photo identification.

Two of the Sikh men refused, which resulted in the Department of Licensing issuing the men driver's licenses marked "Not Valid of Identification."Lee Marchisio, a spokesperson for Governor Gregoire, commented that protective measures will be put into place to ensure that religious discrimination does not continue against any group under the identification guidelines. Marchisio also expressed the governor's regret over the incidents and stated that those who have been discriminated against may immediately receive licenses that are valid for identification.

Commenting further, Marchisio indicated that the Governor's Office will be issuing a memorandum to all Department of Licensing offices state-wide specifically on this issue, to ensure uniformity of enforcement of the correct guidelines.

"We are closely monitoring the situation by making sure the governor's office is taking immediate steps to institute corrective measures by issuing guidance to the Department of Licensing to prevent discrimination against Sikhs. We appreciate the governor's office cooperating with United Sikhs and the Seattle Sikh Community in acting immediately to rectify the situation," remarked Legal Director of United Sikhs Harpreet Singh.

The Sikh organization has thanked Governor Gregoire for her cooperation, as well as the Gurdwara Singh Sabha of Washington's community activists Satwant and Gurcharan S. Dhaliwal, Jaswinder S. Pannu, and President, Harinderpal S. Bains for their assistance and diligent efforts to resolve these cases. "I hope other Sikhs who face this issue will report it quickly so that they may receive a new license," stated Salwinder S. Atwal.Meanwhile, United Sikhs intends to continue to pursue cases of photograph identification discrimination against two Sikhs in South Carolina, where the Department of Motor Vehicles officials told the two gentlemen to remove their turbans for their state-issued photo IDs.

"It is imperative that South Carolina officials realize that the current policy discriminates against Sikhs and other religious groups," commented Jaspreet Singh, Staff Attorney for United Sikhs. "Any such policy must be amended to avoid denying anyone of his or her rights as guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States. We are working to ensure that South Carolina remove this impediment to religious freedom and allow Sikhs to be photographed for state-issued IDs with their turbans on as usual."