Raoul's Spin on Q1-2011 Motorcycle Rights Activities
April/12/2011
Raoul here ... the first three months of 2011 have passed and it’s time for an update to this section of the Gypsy MC web site. Spend a couple of minutes reading this entry and, hopefully, you’ll gain a better appreciation of what’s happening of interest to motorcyclists in Texas and the United States.
Here goes ....
So far this year the U.S. Defenders, COC&I and TMRA2 have used the grass routes Call to Action system to support two initiatives of interest to motorcyclists: Motorcycle Only Checkpoints (MOC) and Fusion Centers. After doing a bit of Internet research here’s my spin on both these topics.
Here goes ....
So far this year the U.S. Defenders, COC&I and TMRA2 have used the grass routes Call to Action system to support two initiatives of interest to motorcyclists: Motorcycle Only Checkpoints (MOC) and Fusion Centers. After doing a bit of Internet research here’s my spin on both these topics.
Motorcycle Only Checkpoints - Although the Texas legislature has not initiated MOC’s, I’d bet that some of our politicians are looking at what’s happening in New York and Georgia to develop their strategy. It seems that the Feds, in their infinite wisdom, have appropriated funds that States can use to set up checkpoints that would single out motorcycles for “safety checks” . You can bet that these “safety” checks will include validating your driver license, vehicle registration, insurance, checking for outstanding warrants, and evaluating your sobriety in addition to making sure your turn signals work. The fact that these checkpoints are for motorcycles “only” is unconstitutional ... the money used for checkpoints would be much better used for rider education and increasing driver awareness of motorcycles on the road.
The U.S. Defenders are all over this issue, as is the American Motorcycle Association and other Motorcycle Rights Organizations (MRO’s). The progression of MOCs is something worth watching as New York is one of the first to fight to overturn established checkpoints. It’s noteworthy that Georgia established their MOCs in early March, just before Daytona Bike Week. This was an obvious “revenue driven” move by the State ... think about all the riders that travel through Georgia to get to Bike Week. Avoiding the Georgia MOCs might be the only upside of trailering your bike to Bike Week (that thought really turns my stomach ... if you see my bike on a trailer and it’s not broken, dial 911).
As this fight goes on bills have been introduced in New Hampshire (HB 148), California (AB 1047) and Washington (ESB5242) to prohibit any state law enforcement agency from accepting federal funding to establish motorcycle-only roadside checkpoints.
This is definitely an issue that will continue to evolve and is a good example of how MROs support your rights and freedom as a motorcycle rider.
Fusion Centers - This issue hits a lot closer to Texas riders than MOCs (at least currently). Fusion Centers were originally tasked with preventing and combating Terrorism, most fusion centers now take on an "all-crimes approach", incorporating information and intelligence about a multitude of crimes from large scale illicit drug operations to simple traffic stops. Expanding further, many fusion centers are now collecting and analyzing private and non-criminal information such as political beliefs and activities, shopping purchases, driving habits, and even health records.
Again, the U.S. Defenders, COC&I and TMRA2 are actively shepherding bills through the Texas Senate and House that will hopefully become law later this year. These bills, HB3219 and SB1572 deal with privacy and protection of personal information. Motorcyclists from across the state are reporting to the COC&I and the Texas Motorcycle Rights Association that DPS officers and local police are pulling them over, taking pictures of their patches and tattoos, and placing their information into fusion center databases when there is no criminal activity suspected.
The Fusion Center Privacy Policy would result in reducing the cost of spending in the law enforcement arenas; have model Fusion Centers for the rest of the states to go by; cut down on law suits for unconstitutional profiling which cost Texas taxpayers; and collect data on the real criminals while still protecting our civil rights.
Currently there are two fusion centers in Texas that have already adopted similar privacy policies. The goal is to simply make it state law for all of the centers currently in Texas.
Motorcycle Only Checkpoints and Fusion Center Privacy Policies have been the two major motorcycle rights issues that have arisen so far this year. The summary and opinion that I’ve offered in this synopsis is intended to help you sort out the issues for yourself. I’ve found the following links helpful in keeping me up to date with legislative issues:
Texas Motorcycle Rights Association: http://www.tmra2.org/index.shtml
U.S. Defeners: http://usdefenders.org/
Bikernet Rights News: http://www.bikernet.com/pages/web_page.aspx?id=5
The U.S. Defenders are all over this issue, as is the American Motorcycle Association and other Motorcycle Rights Organizations (MRO’s). The progression of MOCs is something worth watching as New York is one of the first to fight to overturn established checkpoints. It’s noteworthy that Georgia established their MOCs in early March, just before Daytona Bike Week. This was an obvious “revenue driven” move by the State ... think about all the riders that travel through Georgia to get to Bike Week. Avoiding the Georgia MOCs might be the only upside of trailering your bike to Bike Week (that thought really turns my stomach ... if you see my bike on a trailer and it’s not broken, dial 911).
As this fight goes on bills have been introduced in New Hampshire (HB 148), California (AB 1047) and Washington (ESB5242) to prohibit any state law enforcement agency from accepting federal funding to establish motorcycle-only roadside checkpoints.
This is definitely an issue that will continue to evolve and is a good example of how MROs support your rights and freedom as a motorcycle rider.
Fusion Centers - This issue hits a lot closer to Texas riders than MOCs (at least currently). Fusion Centers were originally tasked with preventing and combating Terrorism, most fusion centers now take on an "all-crimes approach", incorporating information and intelligence about a multitude of crimes from large scale illicit drug operations to simple traffic stops. Expanding further, many fusion centers are now collecting and analyzing private and non-criminal information such as political beliefs and activities, shopping purchases, driving habits, and even health records.
Again, the U.S. Defenders, COC&I and TMRA2 are actively shepherding bills through the Texas Senate and House that will hopefully become law later this year. These bills, HB3219 and SB1572 deal with privacy and protection of personal information. Motorcyclists from across the state are reporting to the COC&I and the Texas Motorcycle Rights Association that DPS officers and local police are pulling them over, taking pictures of their patches and tattoos, and placing their information into fusion center databases when there is no criminal activity suspected.
The Fusion Center Privacy Policy would result in reducing the cost of spending in the law enforcement arenas; have model Fusion Centers for the rest of the states to go by; cut down on law suits for unconstitutional profiling which cost Texas taxpayers; and collect data on the real criminals while still protecting our civil rights.
Currently there are two fusion centers in Texas that have already adopted similar privacy policies. The goal is to simply make it state law for all of the centers currently in Texas.
Motorcycle Only Checkpoints and Fusion Center Privacy Policies have been the two major motorcycle rights issues that have arisen so far this year. The summary and opinion that I’ve offered in this synopsis is intended to help you sort out the issues for yourself. I’ve found the following links helpful in keeping me up to date with legislative issues:
Texas Motorcycle Rights Association: http://www.tmra2.org/index.shtml
U.S. Defeners: http://usdefenders.org/
Bikernet Rights News: http://www.bikernet.com/pages/web_page.aspx?id=5
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