TEXAS GOVERNOR VETOES BIKER ANTI-DISCRIMINATION BILL Despite an outstanding lobbying effort by the Texas Motorcycle Rights Association and the four Confederations of Clubs of Texas, and in spite of near unanimous passage in the Texas Legislature, Governor Rick Perry vetoed landmark legislation that would have made Texas the second state to make it illegal to discriminate against motorcycle riders. Minnesota passed the nation's first biker equal access law in 1998.

Although House Bill 259 received only two "No" votes in the House of Representatives and passed the Senate unanimously, Perry vetoed the bill with no explanation at the midnight hour on June 17th, the last day to sign or veto bills.

"We'll just have to get a new governor and run another bill through next session," said Sputnik, Chairman of the TMRA-II and member of the National Coalition of Motorcyclists' Legislative Task Force. "I just sent a letter to Governor Perry promising him that, 'You'll remember this bill every day of your upcoming campaign,' because Texas bikers WILL elect a new governor in November!" Perry succeeded former Governor George W. Bush to fulfill his term of office after Bush resigned to run for President, and will stand election this fall.

JW Rock, Chairman of the Central Texas Confederation of Clubs and Liaison for all Texas Confederations added, "We decided even before the governor's veto that we'd keep coming back with this bill until we get it passed. Since there were only two "No" votes against our bill, we already know that those legislators won't be back in office next session and we'll have a new governor in office."

OREGON RIDERS WIN RIGHT TO PUMP THEIR OWN GAS Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber signed House Bill 3885 into law on June 11, 2001, which gives motorcyclists the choice of fueling their own bikes. Oregon and New Jersey are the only two states which prohibit "Self-Serve" gas pumps, and now motorcycles will be the only class of vehicle allowed to actually dispense fuel into their own tanks in Oregon, effective January 1, 2002.

HB3885 passed with very few opposed in both the House and Senate, and most lawmakers agreed with BikePAC and Oregon's motorcyclists that the special fueling requirements of various bikes made the rider the expert at fuel dispensing. This bill also removes a liability for gas station owners who permitted the common sense practice of allowing bikers to fuel their own.

A spokesman in the House Speaker's office also complimented HB3885 as very well-written and readable. Thanks go out to Teresa Hepker, BikePAC Legislative Director, who wrote most of the language, Oregon State Representative Bruce Starr, who sponsored the bill, and also Lyle, Iris, Cherie and David, the BikePAC lobbying team. In addition, several concerned riders such as Pat Ryan, James Brassfield, Wayne Schumacher and State Rep. Carl Wilson gave good thorough testimony in the House Transportation Committee.

According to Oregon A.I.M. (Aid to Injured Motorcyclists) Attorney Sam Hochberg, who was one of the first to draw statewide attention to this predicament, "It's about time. It just ticks you off when you roll up to a pump and they insist you can't pump your own gas into your own motorcycle! When the state fire marshall went on a little tear on this, and tried a crackdown to enforce the law against bikes, then we started seeing signs on pumps that specifically said that they refused to let bikers pump their own. The fire marshall's office wasn't much help when I contacted them about it, so I'm glad the state legislature had the good sense to change the law, and I'm glad we have BikePAC and ABATE to help them see the light!"

Ken Ray, Executive Director of BikePAC noted, "There are literally hundreds of groups at the state capitol lobbying for this and that. Most of them get a few things they want, but nobody gets all they want. Very few of them manage to get a bill passed every single session that benefits their groups. There are groups who spend hundreds of thousands of dollars a year and don't get as much accomplished as BikePAC does with donations and volunteer activists. I'm proud of the motorcyclists of Oregon for making a difference."

JUSTICE FINALLY PREVAILS FOR KANSAS BIKER On April 13, 2001, the Kansas Court of Appeals handed down its second decision overturning the illegal sentence of biker Richard B. Aikman for the crime of wearing a belt buckle.

In 1997, Aikman was charged with various drug charges resulting from information obtained from a confidential informant and from a raid of his home in Natoma, Kansas. The confidential informant provided authorities untruthful information about Aikman being involved in the distribution of methamphetamine in exchange for leniency in charges he faced. He also informed authorities that the biker had a cache of weapons in his home, which included automatic weapons.

Law enforcement officials in full riot gear and aided with an armed personnel carrier burst into Aikman's home. No weapons were discovered, other than some shotguns used for hunting. However, a small quantity of marijuana and rolling papers were found. Despite finding no methamphetamine or evidence of distribution, Aikman was charged with several serious drug charges. He pled guilty to possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. The conviction for possession of marijuana was Aikman's second, which under Kansas law constitutes a felony.

Sentencing in Kansas is controlled by the Kansas Sentencing Guidelines.

Aikman fell under the portion of the sentencing grid which specified probation, and unless factors justify a more harsh sentence the judge must impose the probation. During the original sentencing, the sentencing judge remarked on a belt buckle he had observed Aikman wear to court when he had entered his plea. The belt buckle had the words "Sons of Silence" upon it. Acting on his own initiative, the judge announced he was going to depart on Aikman's sentence because Aikman had displayed evidence of gang affiliation by his belt buckle. There had been no allegations that the crimes for which Aikman was being sentenced had anything to do with involvement with the Sons of Silence Motorcycle Club. There was no evidence that Aikman was a member of the Sons of Silence M/C, or that the Sons of Silence even existed. The judge gave Aikman probation for the possession felony but sentenced him to one year in county jail for the misdemeanor paraphernalia charge.

Aikman appealed his conviction through Kansas A.I.M. Attorney Keith Renner, who also serves as legal counsel to the Confederation of Clubs of Kansas. The Kansas Court of Appeals overturned the conviction and remanded the matter to the District Court for resentencing. However, once again the sentencing judge (the same judge) brought up the belt buckle issue. He also made several attempts to force Aikman to waive his Fifth Amendment rights by indicating that if Aikman would disavow any interest in the Sons of Silence he would be treated lenient. However, if he failed to disavow, the judge made it abundantly clear that he would be treated harshly. Aikman, however, stood his ground and refused to be bullied.

The judge not only sentenced him to one year in county jail on the misdemeanor, but sentenced him to one year in a state penitentiary for the felony. The matter was once again appealed.

The issues in the second appeal were substantially the same as in the first. Aikman claimed that his First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and association were violated by the court's consideration of an article of wearing apparel professing support of a group, and that the court had violated his Fifth Amendment right to avoid self-incrimination for punishing Aikman for failing to disavow interest in the Sons of Silence.

In very strong language, the Kansas Court of Appeals once again overturned the sentences and remanded the matter to the District Court for resentencing under the instructions provided. The Court of Appeals ruled that before the court can consider an issue relating to alleged gang membership "[e]vidence of gang membership must be relevant to the issues presented at sentencing," that the trial court violated Aikman's Fifth Amendment rights by punishing him for refusing to make any comment about membership in the Sons of Silence, and that "[a] defendant's apparel at sentencing and his or her failure to disavow gang membership do not constitute substantial and compelling reasons to support a departure sentence."

The matter has not yet been returned to the District Court, but Renner is hopeful that his client will be released from court supervision instead of being placed on probation since he has been under court supervision for over three years while this matter was on appeal. The local county attorney, Paul Gregory, has indicated to Renner that he will not opposed a motion for Aikman's release from court supervision since he has been supervised since this matter was first appealed.

Richard Aikman's bravery in the face of the unwarranted hostility from the sentencing court as well as A.I.M. Attorney Keith Renner's dedication to the cause of freedom and justice have resulted in very favorable law in Kansas regarding how a sentencing court can view an individual's display of apparel supportive of motorcycle clubs. Renner stated, "I am very proud of Rick. It took a lot of courage to stand up for his rights and engage the trial court in a fight when he knew he was very likely to appear before the same judge at re-sentencing. But that is the kind of bravery and dedication to our rights and freedom that made this country strong, and that is the only kind of action that is going to save this country from itself."

QUOTE OF THE DAY: "A little government and a little luck are necessary in life, but only a fool trusts either of them."

P.J. O'Rourke