The billboard image is striking: a photo of a man shrouded in a traditional Arab head scarf clutching a grenade and a North Carolina driver’s license.

The message: “Don’t license terrorists, North Carolina.”

A New York-based group that plans to place the ad near North Carolina’s Capitol this month says it is meant as a critique of the state’s driver’s license laws but Arab-American groups complain it is inflaming an anti-Arab sentiment.

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“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 it’s bigoted. It’s racist,” said Christine Saah Nazer of the Washington D.C.-based Arab American Institute.

Amanda Bowman, president of the Coalition for a Secure Driver’s License, which is launching the billboard campaign in North Carolina, Wisconsin and New Mexico, said the ad targets only terrorists.

“We’re not going after Arab-Americans,” Bowman said. “We’re going after terrorists.”

Driver's license laws not strict enough
Many states have tightened their driver’s license laws to include tougher restrictions for immigrants since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, but Bowman’s group says North Carolina lags behind.

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

Transportation Department spokesman Ernie Seneca called the premise for the ad “flat-out wrong [and] totally inaccurate” and said the ad itself was offensive.

The department has addressed many of the issues raised in the audit, he said. A program implemented last year also 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, he said.

Fifteen of the terrorists involved in the Sept. 11 attacks had multiple driver’s licenses. And while none of those men had North Carolina licenses, Bowman said her group is trying to educate citizens about the importance of tightening license laws.

Siwar Bandar, spokeswoman for the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, charged that the billboard further isolates a community already marginalized in the U.S.

“Our biggest fear is that it doesn’t do anything more than inflame fears about Arabs and Arab Americans,” Bandar said.

all of the mexicans in south carolina go to north carolina to get licenses so they can work here picking beans and such

'tis true. We get a lot of illegal immigrants up this way. I always wondered why, but now I know.

I don't understand what all the hoopla is about. I personally think it's a good idea to not issue someone a license when they up at the DMV with Hand Grenades, RPGs and AK 47s. I support their stance on this issue.

:rofl:

I don't understand what all the hoopla is about. I personally think it's a good idea to not issue someone a license when they up at the DMV with Hand Grenades, RPGs and AK 47s. I support their stance on this issue.

:roll:

Skylance, I'll be back in spartanburg for xmas break starting saturday. Some of the local guys need to get together for a trip to wild wings one night. I'll also be prepping and painting my FD over break since I'll finally be able to afford to drive it with it getting paid off over the holidays and then the extra money carbonfiberhoods.net is/will be making on ebay.

I love this state.

'tis true. We get a lot of illegal immigrants up this way. I always wondered why, but now I know.

They're everywhere in Spartanburg. I was at the Dorman Center Wal-Mart last Friday and they were EVERYWHERE!

They're everywhere in Spartanburg. I was at the Dorman Center Wal-Mart last Friday and they were EVERYWHERE!

One of my clients flagship sotres is in the dorman center. Visited that store to meet the personal specialist for VA, SC, and NC. What a shithole company and city.

One of my clients flagship sotres is in the dorman center. Visited that store to meet the personal specialist for VA, SC, and NC. What a shithole company and city.

Spartanburg isn't that bad, but it's no big city. The cost of living is cheap, and the college life here isn't too bad.

What company is it, if you don't mind me asking?

This year I've been gone almost the entire time. I came back two weeks ago and realized what a crappy city it is.

This year I've been gone almost the entire time. I came back two weeks ago and realized what a crappy city it is.

I'm sure I do not want to live here after college. Once I graduate next December, my lease will be up and i'm getting the hell out of here.

Hell there's probably more to do in Clemson than in Spartanburg.

I can't believe how easily people get sand in their vaginas. For one thing it doesn't say arab terrorist it just says terrorists. Also the guy holding a grenade looks white not arab. People need to just shut the fuck up and try to grasp the whole message instead of just playing the whole the world is against me card.

I thought New Jersey was the big bad offender of issuing licenses to terrorists for 9/11? I'm moving to NC from Jersey this winter, so I had to get my license swapped over. I will say this, getting a license in NC is a walk in the park compared to jersey, ever since the towers went boom and fell down.