Biker attends NC Legislature Opening Day 2007
Raleigh NC 1/24/2007 Bikers USA
NC Biker Rights report from Bikers USA.
Jan from Bikers USA took a ride from Wake Forest to visit the North Carolina legislators on opening day. Jan is a private citizen, not a member of a lobbying group, so there was no need to check into new reporting responsibilities for lobbyists. Remark: A visit to your NC state legislative representative is something every private citizen can do.
The route from North Raleigh to South Raleigh is greatly helped by I-540.
Until 540 opened, there was not much choice for people coming from north Raleigh to south Raleigh. I decided that my route to downtown Raleigh would be on the new I-540 extension from Hwy 401 (Louisburg Rd, Raleigh). If you take this same route, one thing about the signs is that when you think you should be taking a right to get onto 40, hold off and follow the signs that say Durham. After getting past that, my decided route would take me south of the downtown are of Raleigh. I took the exit for South Saunders Street, then took a right at the lights. (Just past the first traffic light after getting onto South Saunders, the next left is where you would go if you want to get to Wake County Custom Cycles and Ray Price Harley-Davidson). Stay heading toward the Raleigh city skyline and South Saunders then changes to McDowell St.. Once I was in the downtown area, I wanted to look for Jones Rd, and knew that it was after Edenton, so that made it easy to spot. Jones Rd is a one-way, and a couple blocks away is the NC legislative building.
Senator Rand and the Motorcycle Safety Awareness funding proposal:
After parking, I headed to the NC legislature. Right out front of the building, I recognized Senate Majority Leader Tony Rand, from Cumberland County. That worked out really good, because Senator Rand was one of three people I wanted to visit with!
Senator Rand was speaking with someone, but I interrupted him long enough to say hello. He recognized me from a meeting I had with him in 2005. I reminded him of our discussion about getting some funding for motorcycle safety awareness videos and radio production. The ads could then be distributed to broadcasters to be aired as public service announcements. He didn’t know the status of it, but enthusiastically said it’s a good idea and that we need to get it happening in 2007.
2006 was a short session, so we didn’t expect action on the motorcycle safety awareness funding proposal until 2007. The 2006 session was almost entirely consumed by an abundance of ethic violation charges within the legislature about lobbyists, and, of course, the NC state lottery which was supposed to have been used for education purposes.
Senator Rand asked me to please meet with him again about the proposal so he can take action on it. I told him I would call his office and set up an appointment.
Other Wake County Legislative Reps
I then proceeded to the Senate offices, hoping to meet with Senator Neal Hunt from NC Senate District 15, Wake County. The Senator already had someone in his office. I was able to speak briefly with his secretary, and was invited to make an appointment. I have sent many emails to the senator in the past about trying to repeal the mandatory motorcycle helmet laws, my opposition to NC gang legislation that could make someone a criminal based on what they wear and their tattoos, and several other topics that unnecessarily regulate the inherent rights of citizens. As a side note, I have almost always found Senator Hunt to be responsive to his constituents. That is a critically important duty of all legislators.
I also wanted to visit my newly elected representative from NC House District 40, Marilyn Avila. She replaced an NC representative who was never responsive to me in the past. Unfortunately, her office door was locked and I did not recognize her in any crowds.
Other than issues already mentioned, I would like to see NC allow us to have poker runs, with the provision that all proceeds go to a charity. The law clearly says we can’t have them, and the penalty, if convicted, can be severe. The ALE says that if there is any complaint about a poker run, they have to investigate and charge violators. The way that some groups (usually ones with an “in” to the DA’s office) have had poker runs in the past is making prior arrangements with district attorneys to agree they will not prosecute. There is an official way to break the law, but you will not get a DA to make the no-prosecute agreement in writing. If laws were made better, and not so unreasonable and regulatory, there would not have to be official ways to make prior arrangements to have the DA not prosecute if you are charged. PS. I carried one of those heavy full face helmets with me, and when discussing the helmet laws, I let them feel the weight of the helmet. I left it all up to them to mention the reduced peripheral vision. If you want to support biker rights, you are urged to do it in one of two ways. Private Citizen: Please make yourself aware the political situations in North Carolina, and please do some research on the issues. You can get a lot of information about biker rights and motorcycle safety issues from NC biker rights organizations such as CBA ABATE, MRF, and throughout the internet. Join or Support NC Biker Rights organizations. Not all of us have the time or inclination to get seriously involved in discussions with legislators. If you don’t have freedom, you have nothing! Copyright 2007 AeroScore Inc dba Bikers USA. No reproduction, duplication, or further distribution without authorization. All rights reserved. | 
