Scanning of driver’s licenses causes privacy concerns for some
As a person required to register, I cringe every time I’m asked for my drivers license to make a purchase. Will they notice the statute number on the bottom? Will they know what it means? Will it become uncomfortable for me to continue shopping here? Etc., Etc.
Now, more than worrying about the statute on the bottom of the license, I just discovered they can scan my license and get the same information! Will the software trigger an alert? Will their screen start flashing something in red?
I always thought that it would be ok for police to have access to that information when they pull someone over, but why does the clerk at Walgreens need to know my status? That’s what the following story from Fox4 in Naples, FL asks.
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Craziness.
I was adjudicated under the 1994 guidelines. Back then the registry was for law enforcement used only. In fact, the order that designated me a predator is only one page. The first paragraph designated me and the second paragraph (the judge did not want to designated me but my public pretender would not argue against it even at the prodding of the judge) states no community or public notification. Now the new law requires that it be on the face of my drivers licence! In fact, governor Scott said it was because he wanted people to know. Well, that goes against the court order. Every county I’ve lived in acknowledge the order. When I register, there is a red banner across the screen that says that I’m not subject to community or public notification. Yet, I am on the public list at the FDLE website. I’ve been to the actual FDLE office in Tallahassee three times. They say that they are erring on the side of caution. Hell, if I err the other way, I go to jail. There is NO accountability for their actions. I showed them the court order and they said I needed to hire a lawyer. I told them I can’t hire an attorney because they have me on the damn list and I can’t get a decent job to even keep up with my child support, much less hire an attorney.
(Big sigh)
Someday, I hope I’ll have the money to fight this crap. Or maybe the ex post facto will help me. I believe that knowingly defying a court order should come with monetary penalties to me and my family. Maybe along the lines of lost income and more, who knows. I tried Morgan & Morgan thinking maybe they could see the dollar signs. They’d be more than happy to represent me after I get a ruling that the state has been wrong. I tried to show that they know their wrong because parts of the state acknowledge the order. That alone shows there is something. Alas, I ramble.
I just keep my head down and try to make sure my child is affected as little as possible in all of this. Having this on my dl doesn’t help. Whenever possible, I show my federal i.d. to the public.
About 6 years ago, Nancy Grace made a Big Deal on her TV show , about sex offenders getting Viagra, and how we should be banned from any sexual performance drugs,If you had to register as a sex offender…
She spent about a week touting it , as far as I know It never went anywhere…
To date I have never been carded at any Pharmacy,they just want your insurance card and prescription
As far as pharmacies go, they are checking drivers licenses on certain purchase and on some prescriptions. I have been asked several times for ID when picking up my meds. Although I only have the statute on the bottom of my liscense, I still cringe every time they ask or it.
This identification on drivers licenses is exactly how my husband wound up trespassed and banned from Disney World. It was the most humiliating experience, for not only him, but our teenage son who had no idea about his dad’s history(a story we were going to sit down and tell him when we felt he was old enough to clearly understand). We were escorted to our camp site, observed as we packed our things and then followed to the end of Disney property. We questioned their security about the fact that (supposedly) they had this “no offenders allowed” policy since 2013, but yet we had visited twice since that time(both times required my husband’s ID). They said they’d trained their staff in how to identify offenders by the codes printed on the driver’s license. I of course asked do they screen everybody, that got zero response. It’s literally a Scarlet letter, and of course, like every other offender law on the books in this state, overkill.
I have the statute on my driver’s license. I get nervous a bit every time I have to show my license somewhere. Let it be a bank, hospital, or any other establishment for whatever reason. I always subtly look at the person’s eyes to see where they look on my license and thank goodness its over in 2 seconds and they return it to me with a friendly smile. I had to take my mom to the hospital a few months ago and the security there was taking IDs for visitors and scanning them before entering the hospital and I don’t know if there was an alert that only they can see, but he gave me back my license and I went on through with my mother. Of course, I was a bit nervous and naturally my heart was pumping a bit as there was a line there full of people and thought I was going to be rejected and humiliated. I kept my cool on the outside though. But this is no way to live I tell you. It sucks.
Disney has become this whole other entity than the Disney I grew up with back then. I wonder if the other parks such as Universal parks in Orlando have such policies too. I haven’t heard of any registered citizens with incidents like they have at Disney with other parks.
Universal is publicly traded. Dat and night when it comes to implementing discriminatory policy.
I was at Universal last April and June. Sacred to death I would get denied. They looked at my license and moved on. I purchased 4 day passes.
Disney is private, They can basically do what they want.
Disney is a public company. NYSE: DIS
I wanted to go to universal,Harry Potter exhibit, I guess that’s not going to be possible ,in August….
So many rules, and nothing posted till you show up with paid tickets in hand…
As far as I know, Universal hasn’t instilled this ludicrous policy. Looking back, the Disney fiasco would’ve been avoided if we’d just walked up and purchased one day tickets, instead of annual passes.
DO NOT buy annual passes or you will certainly be denied.
Universal does not have that policy.
I had taken my children to Disney many times and in 2017 was flagged and trespassed when I renewed our annual passes. Had stayed in the hotels and bought passes from them for years without incident.
Remember, though, you can still pay cash for a ticket and they don’t require ID. And there is no law saying we can’t go. Though if you are on probation you need to be aware of your restrictions.
My wife has had a strong desire to visit to Disney (she has never been there) and it is because of their attitude toward registrants and stories like yours that I have told her I will NEVER spend my (very) hard earned money there. This, of course, has been a disappointment for her, but my hope is, over time, my lifetime boycott of Disney (and Florida as a whole) will make a statement that, as our number grow, cannot forever be ignored. I choose to reward those companies and vacation destinations with my business who do not single out registrations for exclusion. For those on the east coast, Myrtle Beach is a day’s drive up the road and has some great amenities that rival the entertainment meccas of Orlando.
This is the case that needs to be funded and filed:
The impact of the registry on the families of former offenders.
This is a horrible story, and I am sorry that you and your family has to endure things like this. Mine does as well, as do many others I am sure.
My children are impacted by something that they had no part of, between 8-18 years before they were born. That is just wrong.
I would definitely contribute to legal fees to file. My family would be willing to be deposed and/or testify.
For all of out families sakes, this has to stop
MS – please write to [email protected] with details
I had a similar experience back in December of 2013. My wife and I had just gotten married in October of that year and we wanted to go to Disney World for our honeymoon. We had annual passes for years so there was never a problem before. Well, we had to renew our passes when we got there and because they swiped our licenses to renew them that flagged security to me. However, it didn’t show up right away. On Christmas Eve night we were going to Epcot for dinner and when I tried to use my pass it didn’t work and the gate person immediately pulled me aside. They brought me into a security room off to the side and after a few minutes, they came to me with a folder that had my mugshot in it and a basic bio and criminal record history in it. I had to wait for an hour for the police to come and issue me a trespassing citation and Disney staff told me I was banned for life from Disney. The county police officer was asking me how long it had been since I had committed my crime and I told him it had been 15 years (now 21 years). He said he didn’t think it was right to treat someone like this after so many years had past but that he was just “doing his job” which I understood. After that, I thought they were going to let me leave but since the Disney hotel I was staying in was technically in a different county I had to take a taxi back there to the hotel and wait another two hours in their lobby security room for some different officers from this county to show up to give me a different trespassing citation for that county. All this time my wife was ripping apart our hotel room to pack our stuff. We even brought a 4-foot Christmas tree with ornaments to put in the window that she had to take down quickly. Luckily those officers were pretty nice too. So because of one swipe of my license, I was banned from Disney, my honeymoon was ruined, Christmas day was of me sleeping all day because I was deeply depressed from what had happened and later that week I had to deal with the aftermath of the disappointment and sadness that I could clearly see on my newly married wife’s face.
I am so sorry you went through this, sounds like your experience was as bad as ours was. I will admit, both the guy who had to break the news to us and the two security guards who watched us break our campsite down were very polite, and it was obvious they weren’t happy with the task they were given. My main thing is,if they want to ban people for their criminal past, fine, whatever, if you don’t want my money, that’s your loss. But, have that information available, so people in our unfortunate situation don’t have to waste our time, money and dignity. All Disney would have to do is put it on their website, if you’re a RSO, don’t come here, you will be tresspassed etc. Instead, it’s the vague “we reserve the right to deny entry” nonsense.
i got news for you; are you paying higher insurance rates cause your a SO? as soon as insurance company run your Dr. lic. number they know you are a felon. 99% of insurance company’s use credit scores to help determine their rates and i’m sure this info of a branded lic. will increase it.
No, a person’s status as a sexual offender has no effect on their credit score. I was dropped by USAA about 10 years ago for being a sex offender and have been with Progressive ever since, with no problems at all. I even put that little device they use to track your driving for three months in my car and have been getting a 30% discount on my auto insurance premiums ever since.
I share your feelings and fears as well. These situations always trigger my anxiety and I avoid any place that regularly requires my license.
I assumed this is what Disney World was doing to screen for registrants since everyone was being turned away at the gate but not screened out at booking.
Pretty much, and what a great con, they ambush you at the gate with their security and the Orange county sheriff with a tresspass notice.