NATION'S CAPITOL QUIET, EXCEPT FOR MOTORCYCLES It was a quiet day on Capitol Hill on
September 11th, until a hearty group of motorcycle riders roared across the Potomac after
traveling more than 3,000 miles and collecting $1 million to help the families of 9/11
victims.

A year ago, smoke from the Pentagon cast a shadowy pall over the Capitol, but on
Wednesday a picture-perfect blue sunlit sky greeted the riders as they gathered for a
Pentagon Memorial.

"The nation is back on its feet and we're doing the hard work of trying to help these
people who lost their family members try and put their lives together and to fight the
war that needs to be fought so this can never happen again," Representative Christopher
Cox told the 75 riders gathered at the base of the Capitol dome. Cox, R-Newport Beach,
traded his business suit in for jeans and a leather vest as he rode out to join the
motorcyclists for the ride into the city.

"I've completed my mission," Mitch Morrison of Newport Beach told the Orange County
Register. As chairman of the Word Trade Center Miracles Foundation, Morrison organized
the ride when fund raising began to ebb several months after the attacks.

Wearing black leather vests with an American flag and the words "Let's Roll" on the back,
the motorcyclists have stopped in communities along the way, picking up contributions and
other riders during their cross-country pilgrimage.

 

FEDERAL COURT RULES BIKER COLORS OKAY IN NEVADA COURTHOUSE A Carson City courthouse
dress code that prohibits biker "colors" is unconstitutional, a federal appeals court
ruled on Monday, August 26th, overturning a Northern Nevada judge's ruling and finding
that motorcyclists can wear "biker colors," even those with swastikas, inside the
courthouse.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals tentatively canceled a ruling by U.S. District
Judge Philip Pro and ruled that a ban on such garb in a Carson City court building
violated First Amendment rights of expression.

Circuit Judge William Fletcher, writing for a three-judge panel, said restrictions that
led to the arrests of motorcyclists who refused to take their jackets off at the
courthouse were unreasonable.

The ruling applies to areas of court buildings except for courtrooms where, Fletcher
said, judges can impose restrictions to ensure "a reasoned resolution of issues."

But he said there was nothing to show that extending a ban on biker clothing to hallways
or other non-courtroom areas "can plausibly be justified by the need to protect the
courtroom environment itself."

The judge also said there's no evidence to conclude that, "clothing indicating
affiliation with biker organizations is particularly likely to be disruptive or
intimidating."

Citing 1985 and 1971 U.S. Supreme Court cases on First Amendment rights, Fletcher added
it's not reasonable "to prohibit speech in courthouse hallways merely because it may
offend some people's sense of decorum." There was no evidence of any danger created by
the bikers' jackets and so the rules seem to be "impermissibly motivated by a desire to
suppress a particular point of view," the judge said.

The controversy began with the March 2001 arrests of Scot Banks and Steve Dominguez of
Reno when they appeared at the courthouse to contest a traffic citation and were told by
security officers that they couldn't wear their swastika-decorated Branded Few M/C club
colors inside. After refusing to remove their vests or leave, they were arrested for
trespassing and their vests were confiscated.

Two weeks later, ten other bikers were cited for the same offense when they came to the
men's hearing to show their support and also refused to take their jackets off or leave
the premises.

Those cited wore vests that carried a variety of symbols, including an angel over the
background of a Christian cross and the American flag.

One of those bikers, Rick Eckhardt of the Christian motorcycle club His Royal Priesthood,
told the Reno Gazette-Journal that the dress code discriminates against motorcycle riders
by limiting what they can wear in a public building. "It's very important that we're
able to enter the federal building and the courthouse, especially if we have a hearing to
go to or need to go to court in support of one of our friends," said Eckhardt. "We just
want the same rights everyone else has to go to court and be heard."

They all pled innocent and then challenged the constitutionality of the court's dress
code rules before going to trial on the trespassing charges, said lawyer Kevin Karp, who
is representing the bikers on the criminal charges. Karp is the Northern Nevada A.I.M.
(Aid to Injured Motorcyclists) Attorney, and serves as legal counsel to the Northern
Nevada Confederation of Clubs.

"The court did the right thing," said Karp, who has contacted the District Attorney to
request dismissal of the trespassing charges in light of the federal court's decision.
"This issue has started to arise in other parts of the country where courthouses are
trying to ban biker apparel, and we hope this decision stops those restrictions dead in
their tracks."

 

SUPREME COURT DECLINES TO HEAR HELMET CASE The United States Supreme Court has declined
ABATE of Georgia's application for a hearing on the constitutionality of the state's
"protective headgear" law.

According to ABATE State Director Dan Rathbun, "They only gave a one-sentence statement,
with no reason stated on why they chose not to hear our case. They don't have to give a
reason, and chose not to. Our attorneys stated that they only choose to review about 2%
of the case brought to them, and we fell into the other 98%."

Rathbun went on to say, "This brings an end to what has been an interesting experience.
There is nowhere else we can go with this on a legal front. But you can bet your butt
that we got a lot of folks attention under the gold dome. There have been more than a
few legislators who have come by and said that they did not realize how organized we are
and that we had grown enough to be able to do this. So now that they know we are a force
to be reckoned with, we need to keep after those folks at the Capitol."

"As we have exhausted any legal efforts at present, the political arena is where we will
need to focus our energy," summed up Rathbun.

 

HELMETS FOR EVERYBODY Safetycrats are at it again, as the governor of California has
signed into law a bill approved by the state legislature mandating helmets for kids who
ride, practically anything.

Senate Bill 1924 by State Senator Jack O?Connell (D-San Luis Obispo) says that anyone 18
years old and younger must wear headgear when riding any non-motorized scooter,
skateboard or in-line skates, extending the existing bicycle helmet law to such popular
wheeled toys.

Other states, including Rhode Island, Maryland, New Jersey and New York, already have
similar laws on the books. Helmets already are required for bicycle riders 18 years old
and under, and they are also mandatory in all youth baseball leagues and in other youth
sports such as football and hockey. And, of course, California is one of 20 states that
require all motorcyclists to wear helmets.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, skateboard-related injuries in 2000 were
responsible for 50,000 emergency room visits and 1,500 hospitalizations. The Consumer
Product Safety Commission states that nationwide there were 40,500 scooter-related
injuries treated in emergency rooms in 2000.

ABATE of California mounted a letter writing campaign against the bill, and testified
against it in both houses, "But, of course, anything to protect the children?" said ABATE
Legislative Director Jean Hughes, sarcastically explaining the legislature's reasoning in
enacting the new helmet law.

"It is interesting to note the hypocrisy of this particular piece of legislation,"
continues Hughes, "Now, a 19 year old skateboarder can decide how to dress himself, but a
40 year old biker can't."

 

MASSACHUSETTS APPROVES HANDICAP PLATES FOR MOTORCYCLISTS Until now, Rick "Bubba" Young
of Palmer, Mass., an amputee, could park his truck but not his motorcycle in designated
handicap parking spaces.

On Saturday, September 7, 2002 at Tibby's Harley-Davidson dealership in Springfield, the
Deputy Registrar of Motor Vehicles Steve Sebestyen presented two local residents the
first issue of handicap registration plates for motorcyclists who qualify, announced Jimi
Ricci, chairman of the Massachusetts Motorcycle Association and a member of the National
Coalition of Motorcyclists (NCOM) board of directors.

Bubba and other handicap riders and members of the motorcycle association, have been
fighting over eight years, for equal assess and "equity" to be able to park their
motorcycles in handicap spaces. But until now, it's been against the law.

Last month Governor Jane Swift signed into law House Bill 4099, an act authorizing the
Registry of Motor Vehicles to issue such "equity plates" to motorcyclists who qualify.

"When the international access symbol was first issued in 1978, I think it was just an
oversight and preconceived opinion a person with a handicap couldn't ride a motorcycle,"
said Paul W. Cote, the Association's Legislative Director. "However, to those with some
handicap, riding a motorcycle is one of the greatest freedoms."

 

WEIRD NEWS OF THE MONTH: WEIGHTY EXAMINERS TOO HEAVY FOR MOTORCYCLE TESTS Motorcycle
tests in a Norwegian town were postponed because the available examiners were too heavy
to ride tandem. All the thin examiners at Elverum Traffic Station were away on summer
vacation, and those left on duty to put people through the light motorcycle test weigh
too much. The license regulations include a maximum load that assumes the driver weighs
165 lbs. A tandem passenger who breaks the limit by himself isn't allowed, reports the
Aftenposten newspaper.

Examiner Bjoern Mellembakken, who weighs 202 lbs, says the station only has three people
who are light enough to accompany learners during the practical test. He said: "This is
a problem for us in general. We're big guys."

He said he doesn't foresee diets or liposuction being used to reverse the trend.

QUOTABLE QUOTE: "Every great advance in natural knowledge has involved the absolute
rejection of authority."
THOMAS HUXLEY, Scientist (1825-1895)