Quote of the Month
“In our age there is no such thing as ‘keeping out of politics.’ All issues are political issues, and politics itself is a mass of lies, evasions, folly, hatred and schizophrenia.”
—George Orwell
Missouri Helmet Law Up for Review
This will be old news by the time you read this, but Missouri’s helmet law is again being looked at by the legislature. Senate Bill 556 would give riders over the age of 18 the right to choose wether to wear a helmet, as long as the rider carries $1 million of insurance to cover medical payments.
Riders say that Missouri is missing out on vast amounts of tourist dollars as vacationing bikers headed to Sturgis and other destinations bypass the state because of the restrictions. Missouri MRO “Freedom of Road Riders” expressed its view that helmets are neither good or bad, but the choice to wear them should be up to the rider. Currently Missouri has an all-ages “Universal” helmet law.
The bill has until May 18 to be voted on in the legislature, so check www.senate.mo.gov for progress on Senate Bill 556 for more info. Source: kshb.com Kansas City
Civil Suits In Waco Shooting Cases Put On Hold
To date 133 civil suits have been filed alleging police and prosecutorial misconduct in the Waco shooting cases dating back to 2015. For two years now the state has imposed a stay on hearing those cases, citing an ongoing federal investigation of the Bandidos motorcycle club concerning a case in San Antonio, saying that investigation could have an impact on the Waco cases.
U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks, of Austin, has extended that stay another 90 days, as the federal prosecutor won’t release information regarding the case to lame duck DA Abel Reyna until the prosecution wraps up.
Attorney Don Tittle, who represents 115 of the 133 plaintiffs, expressed disappointment and asked the judge to at least allow the 25 cases where the plaintiffs have not been indicted on criminal charges to at least progress to the discovery phase.
Tittle says that the ruling is another attempt to allow Reyna to avoid being placed on a witness stand. Reyna has recently dismissed a large number of defendants so he would not have to testify under oath relative to criminal acts committed under color of authority.
Most of the suits allege false arrest, and violation of civil rights. The suits are against Reyna, the City of Waco, Police Chief Brent Stroman, Detective Manuel Chavez; Waco police officials Robert Lanning, Jeffrey Rogers and Patrick Swanton; and Department of Public Safety officials Steven Schwartz and Christopher Frost. Also named are companies connected with the Twin Peaks restaurant organization. Source: Waco Tribune Herald
Meanwhile, In Canada…
In Alberta, Canada the government has announced that turban-wearing Sikhs will be allowed a freedom that the rest of Canadians don’t possess, the right to choice of headgear. Yes, now a protected class of Canadians (over 18 years of age) can practice their religious freedom to wear a turban, instead of a helmet, while enjoying the beauty of the Canadian landscape. Sikh bikers in British Columbia and Manitoba have already been granted this freedom. Legislation in a fourth provence, Ontario, has been repeatedly stymied by Premier Kathleen Wynne, who calls the practice “unsafe.”
Jagdeep Singh, of the Sikh motorcycle club of Ontario explained the significance of the turban to religious Sikhs, saying, “It’s a social statement. There’s a value statement behind the turban, it’s reflective of that. It’s evolved over hundreds of years to actually become part of a uniform. We just consider ourselves incomplete, it would almost be like going out without clothes.” Source: Calgary Herald; NewsMax
Moving On To The Latest News in The Philippines
While bikers in the states are fighting for freedom to choose whether to wear a helmet, in the Philippines a far different battle is taking place. It seems that militants in the city have taken to full face helmets and visors to disguise their identities as they carry out shootings and attacks. So, the City of Mandaue has imposed a prohibition of helmets and visors under an ordinance that prohibits face coverings while in transit.
A group of riders challenged the local ordinance via civil disobedience, where they were met by 220 traffic enforcers who issued at least 81 tickets to helmet wearing bikers. When the protestors went down to the government office to settle, they were charged the equivalent of $90 US in fines. It’s a weird world… Source: Sun Star
Back In The USA
Voters in Florida will soon go to the polls to decide if convicted felons, who have served their time and paid restitution, should have their voting rights restored. Florida is one of a handful of states that has no mechanism for these rights to be restored automatically. In Florida it takes five years before an application can even be submitted, and it can take years, and significant expense for a felon’s right to be restored. In the case of persons convicted of certain violent or sexual crimes the submission deadline is seven years.
Currently there are 38 states that have provisions for automatically restoring the voting rights of felons, and in Vermont and Maine, prisoners are allowed to vote while behind bars. It is estimated that if the initiative passes, between 600,000 to 1.6 million persons could be added to the state’s voter rolls.
The situation in Florida is controversial, as critics compare the current law to post civil war Jim Crow policies to keep blacks from voting in the past.
Floridians for a Fair Democracy is the organization who has circulated petitions to get the measure on the ballot. Murderers and sex offenders would still be excluded from voting rights restoration under the initiative. Source: News Service of Florida; Associated Press
Trump to Stand Up For State’s Rights On Marijuana?
When the “Cole Memo,” an Obama-era policy which limited what federal prosecutors and law enforcement officers could do after the legalization of marijuana in several states, was rescinded by Attorney General Jeff Sessions, concerns were aroused in those states over what actions the federal government might take in the future regarding marijuana.
According to US Senator Cory Gardner of Colorado, President Trump has personally assured him that the rescission of the Cole memo will not impact Colorado’s legal marijuana industry. He said that, “President Trump has assured me that he will support a federalism-based legislative solution to fix this states’ rights issue once and for all.” This was confirmed by White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who called the senator’s statement “accurate.”
Details of the legislation are not available, a timetable to develop the proposal has not been worked out, and of course it still has to pass the Congress. Then there is the mercurial nature of the president himself, who changes his mind like normal people change their underwear. Hope for the best, but be prepared for anything. The editor of this column is well aware of (Scott) Horton’s Law, “Politicians can be counted on to keep all their bad promises, and abandon all their good ones.” Having written significantly about the positive changes on international relations I foresaw coming from a Trump presidency in our Bikers For Trump book-a-zine, I can attest that disappointment is a head spin away. Source: Washington Post; Tom Angell, Weedmaps
—Kit Maira
