Horned Maine Priest Earns Driver's License Blessing

AUGUSTA, ME — The Maine Secretary of State's Office has blessed a Millinocket priest's request to wear horns in his driver's license photo.

Phelan MoonSong practices Pantheism and said he wears the horns as part of his religious attire. So he was allowed make a point (well, two) in his driver's license.

In August, MoonSong applied for an updated driver's license and requested to wear horns in his photo. The secretary's office initiated a weeks-long review of the matter due to the unusual nature of the request but ultimately signed off on it.

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MoonSong told Patch he was "ecstatic, extremely pleased" his license was approved.

In a similar case in Massachusetts last year, a woman won the right to wear a pasta strainer in her driver's license photo, claiming it too is religious attire because she's a "Pastafarian."

“The First Amendment applies to every person and every religion," an attorney for Lindsay Miller said in a statement.

It wasn’t the first time a government body has acknowledged Pastafarians’ right to wear spaghetti strainers in official capacities.

In 2011, Austrian Niko Alm was allowed to wear one his driver’s license, while in 2014 a member of the Pomfret (N.Y.) town council wore one as he took his oath of office.

Top photo: Phelan MoonSong's driver's license. (Credit: Phelan MoonSong)