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You Decide
This month’s story starts out in Florida on this past April 1st, then takes a left turn to Philadelphia in 1776, then goes where you decide to take it.
On April 1, 2008, the Florida Senate Transportation Committee unanimously passed their SB 802 out of the committee. This bill is targeted at the sport bike community and basically says that if you are speeding excessively or riding on less than two wheels, you’ll lose your driver’s license for up to ten years and forfeit your motorcycle. From what I can see, this bill has a good chance of becoming law.
On July 4, 1776, Benjamin Franklin made a remark to John Hancock after the signing of the Declaration of Independence that has become famous. He said, “We must indeed all hang together, or most assuredly, we shall all hang separately.”
Now, the Founding Fathers in 1776 weren’t exactly a picture of unity. In fact, the Declaration of Independence came pretty close to not happening at all. But the differences were worked out and the Founding Fathers were able to “hang together” and get the job done.
The lesson that the Founding Fathers have for today’s motorcycling community is that we must put aside our differences if we are going to protect our rights. Whether you ride a custom, a sport bike, a touring bike, whatever your brand might be, the reality is that we have some choices about hanging separately or together, as Mr. Franklin put it.
Partly as a result of the Florida hearing, I placed a post on an internet sport bike forum in which I introduced myself as a representative for A.B.A.T.E. of PA and asked the members for their feedback on political involvement among sport bikers. Nothing controversial. I was hoping to get a couple of replies as background for this article. I was amazed when the thread had forty-one posts in less than twenty-four hours!
For a group that some have said is not politically motivated, there sure are a lot of sport bikers with political opinions out there. The majority were somewhat negative in their comments toward ABATE groups in general. There was a fair amount of negativity about us for a perceived anti-helmet bias, and a misconception that we advocate loud exhausts.
I replied to a couple of the posts, and some of the rhetoric cooled off. I also refrained from making some points I could have. I think there is some mutual respect starting.
There are lessons to be learned from the exchange for us all.
First, we are not islands. As motorcyclists, anything we do affects the entire motorcycling community. We are all ambassadors.
Second, even though we might disagree on the fine points, we share the same wind and the same rights, and anything that affects those rights will sooner or later affect us all. Hang together or hang separately. Florida’s Senate Bill 802 is just an example.
That brings this rant of mine from April 1, 2008 to July 4, 1776, and back again to the part where you decide where it goes.
The reality is that A.B.A.T.E. of PA is the only organized voice for motorcyclists in PA. No other group of motorcyclists has the attention of legislators like we do. It took thirty years of hard work to accomplish that. We wish there were ten other groups in Pennsylvania doing the same thing, but that’s not the case.
And so we will hold our 31st Rights Rally this May.
On May 19th, the motorcyclists of Pennsylvania who give a damn about their rights will put aside any differences they have and ride together for seventeen miles on a road that leads from Shellsville to the State Capital.
The Rights Rally isn’t a party, or a pretty ride. It’s a political statement.
That, my friends, is the bottom line. It doesn’t matter what you ride or whether you care more about helmet laws, health benefits, horsepower limits, tiered licensing, lane splitting, or whatever. If you live in Pennsylvania and you care about motorcyclists’ rights, you need to be there.
See you then…
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KEVIN SNYDER
STATE COORDINATOR
Kevin Snyder
814-696-9048
Email State Coordinator!
Note: Peggy's and my e-mail address has changed. Click on the email link above to see new email address.
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