Abate Legislative Breakfast 3/1/2007

Hundreds of motorcyclists braved 40 degree temperatures to attend Abate of Oklahoma's legislative breakfast at the State Capitol

Over one hundred motorcyclists decended on the Capitol in Oklahoma City to meet with their local legislators to discuss issues pertaining to Oklahoma motorcyclists. Sponsored for the 14th year by Abate of Oklahoma, this annual gathering is a chance for all state motorcyclists to be heard on legislative issues that are important to them.


"Tiger Mike" Revere, State Coordinator for Abate of Oklahoma, was on hand to discuss issues with Oklahoma motorcyclists

I spoke with Michael Revere, State Cordinator of Abate (also known as Tiger Mike) about Abate's roll in motorcycle legislation. He said "Abate is all about personal freedom." "It is not a Harley organization," he added. "Abate is for all motorcyclists."

While one of the primary goals of Abate is to stop mandatory helmet laws from being enacted, they also monitor issues involved with off-road motorcycling and street riding. For example:

Red light law - Abate is pushing to make it legal for motorcyclists, who after waiting for a red light to change with no luck, to cautiously go through the intersection without the potential of being ticketed. We have all encountered this scenario, and Abate is trying to stop police from ticketing cyclists who encounter this scenario.

ATV age limits - One legislature is proposing age and size limits on ATV usage in Oklahoma. While on the surface this seems acceptable, Abates position is that it is up to the parents to determine if the child is mature enough to ride a certain sized ATV or motorcycle. For example, the law as proposed would limit 15 year olds to 90cc ATV's and motorcycles. I don't know about anyone else, but my son, after riding since he was 2 years old, was racing 250 cc motorcycles at 15. We don't need the legislature overriding a parent's common sense.

For more, go to their web site Abate of Oklahoma.