Sounds to me like they value their privacy and resent unwarranted government snooping into their personal affairs.
Where does the Gov. stand (heel lifts and all) on this?
This could have a scary influence on local govs.
A few have made that argument, and I understand it, however the IRS mandates it for EVERYONE, try to get a Security Clearance without divulging the info, try going through Homeland Security and Immigration without disclosing. They will find out anyway, even if you don’t tell them, A lot of positions demand this information upfront and failure to disclose might be a Criminal Act, and most definitely could lead to them Denying you whatever you were signing up for.