ANOTHER SHOT AT OUR FREEDOM!

Here we go again. The Federal Government infringing on our freedoms. After 9/11 we had to endure the Patriot Act where the Feds reserved the right to bug our phones, monitor our computers, and look at our mail if they felt it was “in the best interest of National Security.”  I know a lot of people felt this was a small price to pay to be safe from terrorists. They felt that if you were a law abiding citizen with nothing to hide, what’s the big whoop? These people are sheep. Blindly going along with anything Big Brother says “is in our best interest.” The big whoop is we started losing more of our freedom. Our Constitutional Rights were being violated. Whatever happened to privacy? The Feds said they wouldn’t tell anyone what we were doing as long as we didn’t break any laws. I don’t know about you but I think the less the government knows about me, the better! This is America. It’s nobody’s business!

Now the Feds are at it again. This time they’re discriminating against bikers! If the government has their way, you won’t be able to ride your bike in any state in this union without the possibility of being forced to pull over and be subjected to an inspection. The States don’t want to do it. It requires manpower that is going to cost them in the form of money that they don’t really have. In case the Feds forgot, we’re in a recession! Well, I guess the Feds HAVE forgotten. The Government is already spending more than they make so why not spend even more?

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) will give the states $70,000 each in money that can be used in more beneficial ways, to be used to conduct six, one-day safety checkpoints between March 1 of this year and December 31, 2012. Yes, it has already started! New York was the first to oblige, then Georgia decided to highjack bikers going through their state on the way to Daytona Bike Week. Next in line is California.

Initiatives are underway in many States to prevent this from happening. ABATE and the American Motorcyclists Association have voiced their displeasure with States targeting any actions against any particular vehicle type and have labeled it what it is….discrimination!

We already know what the main threat to motorcycle safety is: STUPID CAR DRIVERS! But is the government doing anything about that? Hell no! Instead they want to find a way to make it easier for a biker to survive a crash rather than prevent the crash in the first place. If you have no helmet law in your state, get ready. You soon will have one if the government has their way. They will also be looking at ways to make motorcycles more “visible” to cars. Get ready to wear orange day-glo vests, reflective strips on your clothing and a flashing yellow light on top of your helmet. Do you think I’m joking? I’m not. If not for organizations like ABATE fighting for your rights, that’s exactly what will happen.

Unfortunately many bikers don’t realize what is happening. Governments, whether State or Federal, look at numbers. The number of ABATE members is extremely small compared to the number of registered motorcycles on the road.  In Florida, for example, there are about 1.3 million motorcycles registered compared to about 7,000 ABATE members. The government is going to look at the numbers. They’re going to say, “In Florida there are 7,000 people who don’t want us infringing on their freedom. There’s 1.3 million motorcyclists total. So that means a vast majority won’t care what we make them do. If they did, they would join ABATE or the AMA.”

That’s why I urge all bikers to join a Biker Rights Organization near you, no matter what state you live in. Urge your friends to do the same. You don’t have to be a biker to believe in freedom and you don’t have to be a biker to join ABATE, the AMA, or other Biker Rights Organizations. If we don’t join together and voice our opinions, Big Brother is going to screw you royally like he does all who are too lazy to speak up. Are you a wolf who will band together with others and stand up for yourself or a sheep who will blindly follow where the shepherd (Government) leads you, perhaps to the slaughter of your rights? Do it NOW, before it’s too late!