Rep. Neal Kurk has become a hero to the anti-Real ID set for the rousing, Patrick Henry-style floor speech he delivered last month against the law creating a national ID and database. Kurk's speech not only prompted the House to overturn a 12-1 Transportation Committee recommendation and pass a bill rejecting Real ID in New Hampshire, but it also inspired a movement.

An existing group called NH CASPIAN already opposed Real ID. But Kurk's speech and the House vote gave rise to the Granite State ID Coalition, a network that includes libertarian and progressive groups alike.

It also triggered a rally at the State House and visits to New Hampshire by leaders of the Cato Institute and the American Civil Liberties Union to appeal to the Senate to pass the bill. Before Kurk's speech, few thought the bill had a chance, said Katherine Albrecht, a consumer advocate and leader of the anti-Real ID movement.

A host of websites link to Kurk's speech, and bloggers have lionized the Weare Republican. "It's a thing of beauty. It gave me shivers," a poster at Infowars.com wrote of Kurk's address. "Truly awesome,"another wrote, at Freetalklive.com.

But Kurk - the king of privacy bills in the House - has also attracted worship from a less likely source: conservative Christians who believe Real ID is a sign of the apocalypse.

The anti-Real ID cause has "benefited immensely" from contributions by groups that believe the law is a fulfillment of a biblical prophecy that says people will be numbered and marked before the arrival of the antichrist, the National Journal's Technology Daily reported last week.

Sure enough, Kurk was invited to appear on the syndicated Politics and Religion radio show hosted by Irvin Baxter, the Colorado-based founder and president of Endtime Ministries and Endtime magazine, which filters world events through Bible prophecy. The May-June issue will be devoted to Real ID.

The Real ID Act, which passed Congress and was signed by the president last year, would require all states to conform to national ID standards by 2008. New Hampshire and Kentucky have been invited to serve as the pilot states. The law would require anyone wishing to enter a federal building, fly on an

airplane or open a bank account to have the nationally recognized ID or a passport. It would also put every ID holder in a central database.

Kurk believes Real ID would infringe on privacy and invite hackers to steal personal information without making the country safer from terrorism or deterring illegal immigration.

Baxter believes Real ID is a prelude to embedding radio-frequency chips in human skin, which would just about be the "mark of the beast."

"That's where we are headed right now. The prophecy states that you will have to receive a mark on your hand or in your forehead," he said.

At the end of their 45-minute radio interview, Baxter praised Kurk for taking "a stand for that which is right. We need about 1,000 more like him right now. We certainly will be praying for Rep. Kurk."

Kurk said he was surprised by the religious support for his cause but said it was indicative of the way Real ID had triggered opposition from across the political spectrum.

Albrecht said those who foresee the apocalypse are playing a major role in driving the opposition elsewhere but represent only a small part of the New Hampshire coalition. Instead, it's driven by the "Live Free or Die" ethos captured in Kurk's floor speech, she said.

"(This) is one of the least religious states in the country. If this were happening in Texas or if this were happening in Georgia, I think we would have a very different mix," she said. "I'm a Christian, and I don't like Real ID for a hundred reasons, and that's one of them." (next page »)