In December, 2007, right around the time of the anniversary of the Boston Tea Party, Doc Dockers and I met with Wake County Libertarians. We ate dinner with about twenty of them in downtown Raleigh.
We were introduced to Mike Munger , a professor of political science at Duke University, who is running for Governor of North Carolina in 2008. We sat directly across from him, and immediately brought up the issue of mandatory helmet use in our state. Mike had good questions for us, and asked what Bikers of Lesser Tolerance is all about. Lesser Tolerance? We explained rights cannot be negotiated, and that in order to secure those rights, we cannot bargain, thus we must take a rigid stance of No Compromise. That includes no additional discriminations such as insurance or mandatory training could be thrust upon us, unless they are also forced upon all other motorists. He listened intently, interrupting occasionally with very intelligent questions as to our constitutional basis for our reasoning. We discussed helmet laws in general, what has happened with the state adopting FMVSS 218, what our planned actions are, and how we are fighting for our rights to make this very important safety decision for ourselves, despite extremely overwhelming odds against us.
Fast Forward to Mike Munger delivering the Keynote Address of the 2008 Libertarian National Convention in Denver.
You can view the entire video, at my issues page (which is currently being worked on).
As they say in Mayberry, NC, ..... Well, Golly!
Helmet Laws were actually mentioned briefly by a candidate for NC Governor during a Keynote Speech at the third largest political parties National Convention!
Watch the video, and if you would like to get right to the mention of mandatory helmet laws, fast forward to approximately 25 minutes into the video. Then back up to the beginning and catch the entire speech.
The helmet issue is also part of the issues page on the NC Libertarian Party site. We have been able to talk many LP candidates into vowing to support repeal.
Each of us CAN convince others that securing our rights, freedoms, and liberty is just as important as life itself. When those others take the message of liberty to the streets, there will be people who scoff, but just as many will listen. Keeping our desire for freedom to ourselves gets us nowhere. Asking for shackles rather than chains, when what you really want is to be free, will probably keep you in shackles forever. Together we can, and will, make a difference. Don't ever give away essential liberty for temporary safety.
Janice "Jan" MacKay
NC Senate Candidate
Ride Free, Ride Often
Bill C.
"When the people fear the government you have tyranny ... when the government fears the people you have liberty." President Thomas Jefferson