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Posted April 12, 2010
I just got a call from Suzette and
it gives me great pride and pleasure to announce that Gunner's Bill is now
Gunner's Law! The Governor signed it this afternoon. (HB 2264) Also
signed into law was SB 1670 - the bill that changes the makeup of the Oklahoma
Motorcycle Safety Advisory Committee. So, not only will we generate about
$400,000 each year but we will also have a substantial say in how it is
spent. This will, for the first time, give Oklahomans a statewide
comprehensive motorcycle safety program. There is no doubt that this
victory will save lives. No legislation is more important than legislation that
saves lives. .
Most especially we must thank
Suzette Rhodes for being the brains behind this great
accomplishment. After that, there are literally hundreds of people
who helped make it happen. At the top of the list are all
of you who made it to the Legislative Breakfast and everyone who
wanted to be there but, for one reason or another, couldn't come. A big
thank you goes out to all of you who contacted your legislators and those
chapters that invited legislators to come speak and get acquainted. We are also
greatful to those who put there money where their beliefs are and joined ABATE
of Oklahoma. The COC with their thousands of members and
tight organization also made a very positive force.
I would like to particularly thank
the ABATE Board of Directors who took a big leap of faith in voting to hire a
professional lobbyist. Some of you had to wrestle with that
vote. For those Representatives, it was not an easy decision.
Thanks also goes to the Oklahoma Office
of Highway Safety. It was their inspiration that got all of this
started. Thank you Scott and all of the wonderful members of your
staff. We literally couldn't have done it without you.
John Pierce
Legislative Coordinator
ABATE of Oklahoma
Posted April 5, 2010
Gunner’s bill passed in
the Senate this afternoon with a vote of 44 – 0. Now, it will go to the Governor
for his signature. There is no indication that the Gov. wants to veto
this bill. Additionally, when a governor vetoes a bill, the veto can be
overridden by the legislature. It requires a 2/3 vote to override.
This bill passed in the House with a big majority and in the Senate, it was
unanimous. We are one signature away from Gunner ’s Bill becoming Gunner
’s Law.
Just by joining ABATE,
everyone of you had a part in passing this bill.
Job Well Done!
John Pierce
Legislative Coordinator
ABATE of Oklahoma
Posted March 30, 2010
Late this afternoon, the Senate
decided to have a very short session tomorrow morning, March 31, and then go home for the week. Gunner's bill is
now slated to be heard in the Senate on Monday, April
5th. As Arlene noted, If it passes in the Senate, the next stop will be
the Governor's desk. We will keep you advised.
John Pierce
Posted March 22, 2010
Plea to the Members
Oklahoma ABATE and Oklahoma COC
So far, the 2010 legislative season has gone very well for us. All three of our bills are making speedy progress. It’s not over until they’re signed by the Governor but we’re getting there.
Next Wednesday, Marc h 24, is going to be a crucial day. Gunner ’s Bill (HB 2264) will most likely go to the House of Representatives for the vote of the full House. The bill has passed the Senate and the various committees.
The Malfunctioning Traffic Light bill (SB 1324), and the bill that will change the Motorcycle Safety Advisory Board (SB-1670) will be heard in the House Public Safety Committee, also on the 24th. Both of these bills have passed in the Senate. The votes there were 44-0 and 40-4. In order to be voted upon by the House both of them need to pass their committee hearings. Please shower the members of the House Public Safety Committee with calls and email. Simply ask them to vote for SB 1324 and SB 1670. If they or their Legislative Assistants ask you a question about the bill that you can’t answer, ask them to check with Suzette Rhodes. Please let us know you’ve done that so we can stop by their office. Hearing from motorcyclists is vital. The House Committee members are listed at the bottom.
Finally, Gunner ’s Bill, our most important piece of legislation that will fund a Oklahoma ’s first ever statewide motorcycle safety program. It will be heard in the House this week, probably Wed. Marc h 24. Everyone must call your Representative and ask him or her to vote for HB 2264. If you don’t know who your Representative is, go to http://www.lsb.state.ok.us/ In the lower center of the page, you’ll see Find Your Legislators Put your address in the box and it will give you the name, phone number and email address of your legislator.
We owe it to the memory of Gunner to get this bill passed this year. Don’t let him down by not contacting your legislator. Just ask for a ‘yes’ vote on HB 2264.
House Public Safety Committee Members
|
23 |
R |
(405) 557-7379 |
303-A |
||
|
10 |
R |
(405) 557-7402 |
330 |
||
|
45 |
D |
(405) 557-7386 |
502 |
||
|
6 |
D |
(405) 557-7319 |
509 |
||
|
30 |
R |
(405) 557-7414 |
328-B |
||
|
83 |
R |
(405) 557-7409 |
302-B |
||
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31 |
R |
(405) 557-7350 |
400-B |
||
|
47 |
R |
(405) 557-7333 |
300 |
||
|
80 |
R |
(405) 557-7338 |
327 |
||
|
20 |
D |
(405) 557-7308 |
540 |
||
|
2 |
D |
(405) 557-7315 |
539 |
||
|
25 |
R |
(405) 557-7336 |
408 |
John Pierce
Legislative Coordinator
ABATE of Oklahoma
Posted March 11, 2010
This story from ABATE of South Nevada
http://www.abatesnv
.com/News- No_Bones_ About_It. html
NO BONES ABOUT IT
March 8, 2010
I've got a little story to tell and I think you'll be interested in the
end result.
Once upon a time, a motorcycle club, decided to have a little
get
together at one of the local Harley dealers in the valley. The club
that sponsored the party was not in good standings with the local
Henderson P.D. so the local coppers decided to stop every biker that was
going to attend the party and give them the choice of either turning
around and not supporting the event or getting a ticket if they decided
to continue on. A lot of people decided to continue on and were
promptly stopped under the guise of unsafe headgear, and once stopped
they were written tickets for everything from helmets to high bars.
Some of the riders that got tickets went ahead and paid them or plead
them down to parking tickets and just paid the fine as fighting the
system didn't seem like a good idea.
Fifty-six of the riders, however, decided that they were sick of this
form of harassment and decided to stand up for what they believed in and
got in touch with an attorney. This attorney had no experience with
motorcycle law, as his specialty was in mortgages, but he was willing to
take a stab at it. Now this attorney, although strong on constitutional
rights, had no idea of what he was getting himself into so he connected
with Dave Stilwell and got a crash course in motorcycle rights. To make
a long story short, and between the two of them, all fifty-six tickets
were dismissed prior to the court date, which is tomorrow. These people
stood up to the Henderson Police
Department and scored a victory that
will set precedence for all cases to come.
The fact that they were cited under the helmet law and charged with
everything under the sun, when investigated, it was revealed that it was
against the law for two reasons.
The first is, that in order to be stopped for a helmet violation, law
enforcement must have probable cause. This means in order for the law
to pull you over, they have to believe that you are committing a crime
or you are in violation of the law, and seeing as how Henderson Police
Department has no specified training for their
officers to determine
what constitutes approved headgear according to the Nevada Revised
Statute 486.231, they do not, nor will they ever,
have the ability to
pull you over for a helmet violation and make it stick. THERE ARE NO
STANDARDS!
The second reason is a legal term that is called " fruit of the poison
vine", when translated into English is: that if the cop stops you under
the guise of unsafe headgear, i.e. the helmet law, and writes you two
dozen more tickets for insurance, endorsement, no registration and
whatever else, they will all be dismissed because the cop doesn't have
the ability to determine if your helmet is compliant or not, so without
probable cause he would not have been able to write the ticket in the
first place.
I was ecstatic about the decision even though we didn't get to see the
Judge, because if the City Attorney cannot prosecute on the grounds that
were presented in discovery by the defendant, the helmet law as we know
it is on its way out. Henderson has always drawn a hard line with the
motorcycling community, especially with clubs, and it is not due to the
attitude of the cops but the directives from supervision.
We are collecting helmet tickets for the legislative session in 2011 to
show that this law is used as a direct tool by law enforcement to
discriminate against bikers in this state and in no way has anything to
do with the safety of the rider. The fifty-six riders that won were
stopped for no reason, their civil rights were violated and with this
decision we will all be able to ride a little freer in the community of
Henderson .
My hat is off to you and I applaud your decision to stand up for the
rest of us, now let's see if the rest of us are ready to stand up for
you. We need to challenge authority when we suspect wrongdoing and hold
those in office responsible for their decisions. It's not so much about
fighting the system but about fighting the abuse by the system.
As I have said in previous articles, why should motorcycles be the only
privately owned vehicle that requires special equipment, special license
and extra fees for registration when motorcycles are highway friendly,
ozone friendly, fuel-efficient and will reduce congestion on the busiest
of Nevada
's roadways?
The primary elections are coming in May and the people that have applied
these restrictions will be running for office. Will you allow them to
concoct even more restrictions on your freedom? What will you allow them
to do to you this term? Help us help you protect your right to ride
free!
WHEN INJUSTICE BECOMES LAW
RESISTANCE BECOMES DUTY
BONES
P.S. I forgot the part about they lived happily ever after and
didn't
have to pay the $190.00 fine.
Posted February 12, 2010
|
Hello, Friends-- Hope this finds all of you having
a great week. It certainly was great to see everybody who was able to attend
our 19th Annual ABATE Legislative Breakfast, and it was terrific to get the
positive feedback from John Pierce on how well ABATE attendees were received.
I personally interacted with the Capitol Sgt-at-Arms, and he complimented our
Riding Community on how well-behaved, dedicated and courteous everyone
was. That's the result of close to two decades of ABATE Freedom
Fighters working together to cultivate relationships by simply treating
others the way we want to be treated. Thanks so much to all of you for your
considerable efforts. As of this evening's COD Chapter
Meeting, we have our 2010 event line-up for distribution and entry into the
ABATE Activities Calendar. The event listing is as follows: War
Memorial Run to the State Capitol: Monday, May 31, 2010 (Memorial Day); Jesus
House Benefit Poker Run: Saturday, June 19, 2010; ABATE and Friends
Party: Saturday, September 11, 2010; Veterans' Day Run to the State
Capitol: Thursday, November 11, 2010 (Veterans' Day); COD Toy Run:
Sunday, December 12, 2010. I sincerely hope a number of you will be
able to join us for some of these festive occasions--if for no other reason
than to see me back on a motorcycle! LOL Feel free to contact me if you have
any questions, or if we need to deconflict on any of the dates.
Unfortunately, the Toy Run date is carved in stone, and historically has been
held the same day as the Tulsa Toy Run. I apologize for that, and wish it
could be otherwise--maybe we can negotiate some sort of change in the
future. Have a good week, everybody, Ride Free and Safely, and I look
forward to seeing folks at the State Board Meeting in Del City this Saturday
at 1030AM. Please contact me if you have any questions. In Liberty, Tiger Mike COD Chapter President 405-596-1072
405-596-1072 (cell) |
|
Posted February 1, 2010 There will be an organizational meeting of the newly formed Kiamichi Chapter of ABATE of Oklahoma held in Ada, Oklahoma on March 6th at 10 am at the Rib Crib, 1004 Lonnie Abbott Blvd in Ada.The Rib Crib will be open at 9:30 for seating. Please contact me if you have any questions. I have attached a new membership form that can be downloaded and filled out for the meeting. You may also go to www.abateofoklahoma.org to download one. There is an address to send it to in case you cannot attend. At the meeting, we will sign up members, go over the bylaws, elect the executive board, appoint the At Large Positions and discuss events planned for this year. Notices of this meeting have been posted in the Ada evening news, Konawa paper, the McAlester paper and any others that will print it, so look for them. The positions to be filled are: President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Sgt at Arms, State Rep., Alternate state Rep, Chaplin,membership chairperson and merchandise chairperson. Please tell your friends and anyone you know that might be interested in our organization. Hope to see you there!!!
Garry 2R Canaday ABATE of Oklahoma State Coordinator 580-763-3846 |
Posted January 31, 2010
Hello, Friends--
I hope this finds all of you doing
well, and bearing up okay under last week's latest ice and snow assault in Oklahoma.
Hopefully, our Riding Community
statewide is fully aware of the tragic death of Bob "Gunner" Catcher,
of the Callejeros M/C
and ABATE's Muskogee Chapter, at the hands of a negligent motorist last
November. Below you can read the latest message traffic from Gunner's
family on the court case's development. This inattentive driver pulled
out with a truck and trailer rig completely blocking the entire road, leaving
Gunner nowhere to maneuver and no time to brake. As you can read below,
the driver is possibly going to walk away with a relatively minor penalty
(absolute maximum of a one thousand dollar fine and up to one year jail time
for a misdemeanor) for killing an innocent human being. This is not
right!
Some of you might have joined us in
1999 at the Cleveland County Courthouse
for the sentencing of the killer of OKC HOG Chapter's Flop Myers, Bev Kroutil
and John McAlpine. A large number of our Riding Community turned out to
support the grieving families. However, she was allowed to walk free
after paying fines of a few hundred dollars and served no jail time.
If I had screamed my outrage in the courtroom, I would've been cited with
Contempt, and would've spent more time behind bars than she did for taking
three innocent lives. That was just one of many injustices over the years
which ultimately led to the passage of "Jaggers' Law" to establish
negligent driving penalties, but to date only FIFTY DOLLARS has been
contributed to Safety and Awareness Programs as result of motorists' hurting
and killing people they share the Road with! ABATE intends to pursue
legislation this year designed to increase these penalties, and make them
mandatory. Additionally, our Rider Safety, Education and Awareness bill
has been renamed "Gunner's Law" to honor Bob Catcher's tireless
efforts on behalf of these programs, and to honor his sacrifice and memory.
If these injustices anger and
disturb you, and they should, then all of our Motorcycling Community and
supporters who can possibly attend are strongly urged to join the Catcher
Family on Tuesday, February 2, 2010,
for the arraignment of Gunner's killer. If there is anyway you
can help support Callie, Gunner's wife, and the family next Tuesday,
please be at the Cherokee County Courthouse.
It is located at: 213 W. Delaware Street in Tahlequah, OK. The
Zip is 74464-3600, and the Courthouse Phone Number is: (918) 456-4121.
Courtroom proceedings will begin at 1:00pm, so please arrive early.
I don't know of any organized trips to the Courthouse, so get there as best you
can. Law Enforcement agencies
are being notified in advance to expect a large number of motorcyclists showing
up, so exercise your common sense, be nice to court personnel, and expect metal
detectors at the entrances so leave any weaponry or contraband at home.
Please be very careful traveling to Tahlequah after all the ice and snow we've
had recently.
To celebrate Gunner's life, all
who have them are requested to wear the pink Gunner memory ribbons, the buttons
handed out with Gunner's smiling face, and pink "Look Twice For
Bikes" T-Shirts that are available from ABATE of Oklahoma Merchandise
sales. Contact Garry at: garry2rcanaday@ yahoo.com if you're interested in purchasing one. If you can't
make it on Tuesday,
please remember the Catcher Family in your thoughts and prayers, and especially
channel good wishes to obtain Justice and at least attempt to right this
grievous wrong! Thanks for listening, stay safe out there, and I'll see
you on the Road.
In Liberty,
Tiger Mike
ABATE of Oklahoma, Inc.
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