MARYLAND GOVERNOR SIGNS ANTI-PROFILING BILL INTO LAW
Hundreds of bikers descended on the State House in Annapolis on Thursday, May 19, 2016 for a historic bill signing ceremony as Governor Larry Hogan signed only the second Motorcycle Profiling measure in the country into law in Maryland.
The motorcycle anti-profiling legislation passed unanimously through both chambers of the legislature, without opposition from law enforcement, and emulates anti-profiling legislation passed in the state of Washington in 2011.
Spearheaded by the Confederation of Clubs of Maryland with the help of ABATE of Maryland, and with assistance from other COCs across the country, HB785/SB233 passed through the legislative process without a single no vote; 47-0 in the Senate on 4/4 and 137-0 in the House on 4/7.
The legislation requires a specified statement condemning motorcycle profiling to be included in police policies and require training of officers on “motorcycle profiling,” defined in the legislation as “The arbitrary use of the fact that an individual rides a motorcycle or wears motorcycle-related clothing or paraphernalia as a factor in deciding to stop, question, take enforcement action, arrest, or search the individual.”
Previously, the COC and ABATE worked effectively against motorcycle profiling and discrimination by passing legislation prohibiting motorcycle-only checkpoints, which also passed the Maryland legislature with unanimous approval, and next on the political agenda will be an equal access bill to prevent anti-biker discrimination in public accommodations, such as No Colors policies by businesses open to the public.
THE AIM/NCOM MOTORCYCLE NEWS SERVICE is brought to you by Aid to Injured Motorcyclists (A.I.M.) and the National Coalition of Motorcyclists (NCOM), and is sponsored by the Law Offices of Richard M. Lester. For more information, or if you’ve been involved in any kind of accident, call us at 1-(800) ON-A-BIKE or visit us on our website at www.ONABIKE.com.
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