OFF THE WIRE
Fred Harrell
Director of Conferences
The siege aimed at rights, lifestyles, and motorcycles didn’t
start in the nineties, eighties, or even in the seventies. It’s
older than most of us have been riding.
A remark in the product’s room at the 2018 Meeting of the Minds provoked me to wonder if the MRF’s
effort to brand the organization’s message was too strongly worded. After all, unless you delve into the
history of motorcyclist rights, spend much time studying orchestrated discrimination, or are a member
of a motorcycle club, are your rights, your lifestyle, and your motorcycle really under siege?
When a member of the MRF says the wording on a t-shirt and even the “…Under Siege” branding
is too strong, it was enough to give me pause and goad me to take a more in-depth look into what
is perceived by many as subtle attacks and a siege on the rights, lifestyle, and motorcycles of all
motorcyclists.
The pause took me back to 1965 and what I believe was the first attempt at putting the attack on rights,
lifestyle, and even motorcycles, as close to “viral” as something in 1965 could go. I found what I believe
was out-take footage from a television documentary and was surprised to see guys that I wasn’t to
meet for another 15 years!
In 1965, Thomas C. Lynch, California Attorney General, used his agenda to draw a direct bead on the
rights and lifestyle of a relatively small (less than 500 members at the time) California motorcycle
club. He singled the club out with a 15-page report and circulated the report among law enforcement
agencies and news media.
The Lynch Report went viral when it was picked up by the New York Times, Newsweek, Time, and even
the Saturday Evening Post. Although Lynch’s report was about the activity of “motorcycle gangs,”
he did not hesitate to attack one club with an assortment of half-truths, innuendoes, and unproven
charges. The news organizations that published stories based on the report were careful to omit
Lynch’s half-truths and unproven allegations. However, that did not stop them from sensationalizing
anything the club did or allegedly did.
And the club did not sit idly by… Watching the footage as club members rode and performed an
assortment of B-roll and filler shots for the camera, then listening to a roundtable discussion of ‘what
should be done’ may have been as close as one gets to the early stages of building biker rights activism.
The old footage shows just how naïve an idealistic motorcyclist was in 1965. The ink on the Civil Rights
Act of 1964 was still damp. Yet, the young men talking about discrimination believed they could use
the act to end Lynch’s attack on the club. In language that most new-age politicians would be hesitant
to use, Lynch called the club members “hoodlums” and said that the only way they could ride in
California was to ‘shave, clean up and change their clothes.’
No, there was no rush by the ACLU or any other rights group to speak out against Lynch’s attacks. Nor
were there any SMROs to stand up against this early assault. There was just a handful of members of
the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club who went on to form the Modified Motorcycle Association.
The Lynch Report was soon used by law enforcement agencies, especially in California, as justification
for random stops, arbitrary enforcement of poorly written equipment laws and even detainment and
incarceration for the association – a blatant violation of the First Amendment.
It was Attorney General Lynch’s characterization of one motorcycle club and known associates that
caused the pushback that grew into a national movement that survives over 60 years since the Lynch
Report’s release.
However, even with the MRF’s nearly 40 years of advocacy on behalf of motorcyclists’ rights along with
a solid history of working with other state and national rights groups and a cross section of motorcycle
clubs, the threat to motorcyclists’ rights, lifestyle and yes, even motorcycles, is just as prevalent today
as it was in 1965.
Witness: A Sunday meeting of motorcycle club members assembling for presentations of a typical
agenda of any gathering of motorcyclists’ rights advocates – motorcycle safety issues, profiling
of motorcyclists and members of motorcycle clubs, along with any number of issues. The First
Amendment to the Constitution guarantees freedom of assembly and association. Before the meeting
of the Confederation of Clubs was even called to order, law enforcement agents were staged and
surrounded the location. The gathering was a meeting of politically active motorcycle clubs and
independent riders. When it was all over nine motorcyclists lay dead, 20 were wounded, and 177
arrested in Waco, Texas.
This police action has been compared to the attacks on gatherings of socialists and communists that
took place after World War I, and some have even gone so far as to compare it to the use of law
enforcement against civil rights activists in the sixties. Referring to the 177 arrested after the police
action, David Kairys, a law school professor and civil rights attorney, criticized the police action as
having a “chilling effect” on both freedoms of association and speech.
Targeting motorcycle club members in 1965 is no different than targeting motorcyclists at a political
gathering in 2015. Your rights, your lifestyle and your motorcycle are still under siege, and the MRF’s
2019 Legislative & Regulatory Priorities draws a line on what’s essential as we prepare to meet the next
session of Congress.
The 2018 Meeting of the Minds produced a legislative and regulatory agenda that reads like the
anthesis to the Lynch Report.
• Continue to lobby for the passage of legislation (H.Res.318 & S.Res.154) promoting public
awareness of and condemning instances of motorcycle profiling by law enforcement officials.
• Advocate for targeted changes to the Renewable Fuel Standard including the following actions:
• The indefinite and universal availability of approved fuel blends, containing no more than 10
percent ethanol by
volume.
• Additional research and independent studies concerning the effects of higher blends of ethanol on
motorcycles as well as targeted consumer education programs.
• Where higher ethanol blends are available, ensure separate pumps (i.e. no blender pumps) to
minimize the risk of damage to motorcycle engines.
• Advocate and monitor for motorcyclists concerning laws and regulations related to connected and
autonomous vehicles, specifically, (AV START Act, S.1885):
• Required testing for motorcycle recognition and responsiveness
• Strong standards to ensure the safety of motorcycle users as it relates to electronic and
cybersecurity systems.
•
The inclusion of motorcyclists’ perspectives in discussions regarding Intelligent Transportation
System (ITS)
• Clarification of the rights of data ownership of any recorded data in the context of connected and
autonomous vehicles.
And this list is just the top three! The entire 2019 Legislative & Regulatory Priorities was published in
the last issue of the American Biker Journal.
The siege aimed at rights, lifestyles, and motorcycles didn’t start in the nineties, eighties, or even in the
seventies. It’s older than most of us have been riding. However, even as the 115th Congress is one for
the history books, the MRF, represented by William “Rocky” Fox, with Hursch Blackwell Strategies, is
already setting the stage in preparation for the 116th Congress and Bikers Inside the Beltway.
If the 10th Annual Bikers in the Beltway set records for attendance and accomplishments, the 11th
promises to rival it and set new attendance and accomplishment records. Mark your calendar – May
21, 2019 -- and book your room early. The MRF will soon be making appointments with members of
Congress for the11th Annual Bikers Inside the Beltway.
No, we should not be deterred by anyone who thinks that the MRF’s “… Under Siege” branding is too
strong or too harsh. It may even be too weak. However, even if misinformation like the Lynch Report
and attacks on freedom of assembly will not go away, neither will the MRF and its diligence to stop the
siege.
Know this, your rights, your lifestyle, your motorcycle are worth every effort the MRF makes on behalf
of their protection. The heritage of protecting your rights, your lifestyle and your motorcycle grew
from the attacks in the sixties and the meetings that led to the Meeting of the Minds in St. Louis in the
eighties, and Bikers Inside the Beltway in Washington, D.C., now. The Motorcycle Riders Foundation
is your voice, your advocate and your first line of defense against the siege. Thank you for your
membership and support
