It wasn't until six months later when he submitted paperwork to have his licence classification changed that police became nervous about allowing a man with a colander on his head access to firearms. He said two uniformed officers visited his home and seized his licence and four firearms - two rifles and two handguns worth about $2000 in total - until a psychiatrist confirmed he was safe to own weapons. "I passed," Mr Albon said. "I was laughing ... I had to go and tell (a psychiatrist) what I was doing.
"The psychiatrist just laughed, he said 'you're kidding right'. He asked if I had heard any voices, if I'd used drugs, and just other stuff to clarify where I was with my mental status." Despite passing the test, he was told the licence with the colander photo had been destroyed and he would have to be photographed again, this time without the headpiece. A frustrated Mr Albon maintains he is legally allowed to wear the colander in his licence photo. But, at the risk of losing his licence again, he conceded to having a normal photo taken for the renewal.
Meanwhile, a New Zealand man has a blue colander on his head on his driver's licence photo. Despite the photo, it is completely legitimate. The man, known only as Russell said: "I am complying in every respect to the New Zealand law, specifically concerning driver licences," he said. "And I am simply claiming the same privileges awarded to those who claim to believe in a magic man in the sky. They can wear religious headwear." Both Mr Albon and Russell claim to be part of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, otherwise known as Pastafarians.
There's a video interview with Russell here.
2 comments:
Seems to me the only problem with colander-on-head photos is that the wearers should then be required to wear their colander while exercising their licensed activity (shooting or driving). Certainly can't be anymore offensive to the eye than wearing a baseball cap backwards.
Thank you for that Nell!
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