The M.E.A.T. Is

by Steve Panten

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

With the start of every new year there is an opportunity to reflect on the past year and look forward to the new. New Year, new opportunities, new adventures and new directions. An opportunity to hit control:alt:delete and start with a new slate to correct what is not going right, or to find new ways to improve other aspects of your life. An opportunity to add new horsepower to your motorcycle and to your life.

While all this “new” is going on, there is a new Legislature being seated in Madison and Washington DC this month. New faces and familiar faces that have taken new roles. New opportunities throughout the year for us to meet with them and discuss the issues that affect us.

The United States Senate has unanimously passed our Motorcycle Profiling Resolution S. Res. 154. By passing this resolution the Senators recognize that motorcyclists across the country are being pulled over and detained by various law enforcement agencies for the purpose of gathering information about where they are traveling to as well as who they travel with.

Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson has become quite a champion for motorcycle issues on the federal level. He was a co-sponsor on this resolution and played a key role in getting this passed. We also had the support of Senator Baldwin who gave this resolution a much needed bi-partisan push. All motorcyclists In Wisconsin should be proud to know that we are well represented in Washington DC. Also thank you for all the efforts of the Motorcycle Riders Foundation and our members who traveled to the nation’s capital or met with their Senators in the State. Wisconsin has once again shown the rest of the nation why we are the leaders in the motorcycle rights movement. Now our focus is on getting the House of Representatives to pass their version, H. Res. 318.

As long as we are talking about profiling – ABATE had issued an Open Records Request to the Lomira Police Department to collect any information regarding the motorcycling issues in that community. They have been pulling over motorcyclists for over a year now and it is time to get a better understanding of what the issues are. As I write this, we have just been informed that the information that we requested is ready to be picked up, so we will have more on this next month. I would like to thank John Reblin for taking the lead on submitting the letter. We also reached out to Jason Abraham from Hupy and Abraham to make sure that we were following all the rules. The staff at the law firm was extremely helpful and put us on the right path.

Biker Day at the Capitol is February 28, 2019. Did you take the day off work or did you clear your schedule? This IS the most important day for motorcyclists in the state of Wisconsin. Keep in mind that you do not need to be an ABATE member to attend so please….bring your friends and family members. Remind them that we just need a large presence in the Capitol and in the meetings, they do not have to speak. If they do choose to speak, we ask that they stick to the issues that we are working on while they are meeting legislators along with ABATE members. If they want to meet with the legislators on other issues after we are done, this is a great opportunity for that. Speaking of meetings, it’s time to get them scheduled. Later this month the new legislature will be settled in their offices, so it would be a great time to start filling their calendars with motorcyclists. Look for the bus schedule in this newsletter. Ride the bus, drive yourself and park at the CC Riders Clubhouse, however you get there, just be there (all the cool kids will be).

I hope everyone had a good Holiday Season and I look forward to a successful 2019!

That’s it.

Steve