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Last Update
11/15/2009

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"Second Fridays" - Party at the IOOB
Clubhouse
We invite you to come on down and party
with the Old Bastards on the second Friday of every Month. We
feature great live Las Vegas Bands, food, and good times. All at the IOOB clubhouse located near
the southeast corner of Pecos and Craig right next door to Sinister
Cycles. Parties start at 8:00pm. So, hop on your ride and come party
with us on "Second Fridays!"
Kingman Daily Miner
Wednesday, November 04, 2009
They will protest businesses with ‘no colors’ policy
KINGMAN - More than 1,500 motorcyclists from around Arizona are expected to roll
into Kingman this weekend.
The riders will be in town for the bimonthly meeting of the Arizona
Confederation of Motorcycle Clubs (ACMC). The riders also plan on stopping by
several bars that have recently instituted a "no colors" policy.
The riders will be equipped with forms that will allow them to document any
incidents in which they are turned away because of what they are wearing, said
ACMC Chairman Still Ray of Prescott.
Ray said members of the Arizona State Gang Task
Force have been threatening to pull liquor licenses from bars and restaurants
unless they institute a "no colors" policy.
"The problem is that the gang task force is using the state liquor board as a
weapon and that's not right," Ray said.
Ray added that the riders aren't out to cause a riot but rather exercise their
right to lawful assembly.
Bars and restaurants on the planned protest route include Mad Dog's, Chuy's,
Cerbat Lanes and the Sportsman's bar. When contacted, some said they were aware
of Saturday's activities.
Deborah Barry, owner of Mad Dog's, said she instituted a "no colors" policy more
than a month ago because of the surveillance being conducted by police in her
parking lot. Because the bikers were being watched and photographed, they were
less likely to drink, which led to a drop in revenue, and ultimately, the ban on
colors, she said.
Barry said she was never threatened to have her liquor license revoked if she
didn't ban colors.
"Colors" are considered any patch or insignia on a vest that would identify an
affiliation with a particular motorcycle club.
Ray said that riders are being tagged as criminals or gang members because of
their association with motorcycles.
"It's a way of life," he said. "I resent it when I am considered a criminal
because I'm in a motorcycle club."
Ray said up to 2,000 riders could roll into Kingman by Saturday. He said he was
aware of a couple of groups of more than 400 riders coming from Phoenix.
Ray said the riders have been invited to take part in the Veteran's Day parade
in North Kingman Saturday morning. The parade will begin at 11 a.m. at the
corner of North Bond Street and Northern Avenue.
The ACMC meeting will be held at the American Legion Post on Oak Street at noon. Kingman Daily Miner
Sunday, November 08, 2009
Businesses waive ‘no colors’ policy, serve hundreds of paying customers
KINGMAN - No major incidents or disruptions were reported Saturday after more
than 500 motorcyclists rolled into Kingman to protest a "no colors" policy
recently instituted by several local bars.
Bikers were even served at at least one of the bars they anticipated they would
be turned away from. And one bar avoided the controversy altogether by closing.
"Why would they turn us away?" said Steve Musgrave, a member of the Desert
Thunder motorcycle club and a registered motorcycle rights lobbyist for eight
years. "Our money should be as good as everyone else's."
Musgrave rode 240 miles from Casa Grande to protest the move by several bars in
Kingman to post a "no colors" policy. Colors are defined as a patch or insignia
that identifies an affiliation with a motorcycle club, although several people
have said they've been asked to leave several recent local events for wearing
anything motorcycle-related, including Harley-Davidson T-shirts.
In July, motorcyclists in Kingman said they began to notice a visible police
presence by the State Gang Task Force at their ride events, including the weekly
Bike Night, where riders gather at a local establishment to eat and socialize.
Bike Night, which is sponsored locally by Performance Specialists, moved from
Chuy's on Stockton Hill Road to the Sonic Drive-In on Andy Devine in early
September after Chuy's instituted a "no colors" policy.
Riders wearing their club colors on Saturday expected to document people who
were turned away from Chuy's for a possible class-action lawsuit. Those who
arrived armed with discrimination forms, however, found no need for them after
they were served, despite wearing their vests.
Bikers were also served at Cerbat Lanes but were asked to leave the Sportsman's
bar. Police responded to the location at the request of the bar owner but no
arrests were made.
The owner of Mad Dog's closed the establishment Saturday afternoon and posted a
notice that as a business, they have the right to establish their own dress
code.
Police had a highly visible presence around town and especially outside of the
American Confederation of Motorcycle Clubs' meeting, which was held at noon
Saturday at the American Legion Hall at E. Oak and Third Streets downtown. A
police helicopter circled in the air after the meeting had adjourned, while
several marked and unmarked police vehicles drove up and down the street.
Officers in at least one unmarked SUV were taking photographs and video footage
of people congregating outside of the meeting. Police from Bullhead City also
patrolled the area. Sgt. Bob Fisk with the Kingman Police Department reported no
incidents by mid- afternoon.
Anecdotally, those inside and around the meeting traded stories about several
riders who had been ticketed or arrested on their way to Kingman, including
Sonny Barger, a founding member of the Oakland, Calif., chapter of the Hell's
Angels. Barger, 71, was allegedly arrested at a gas station on Interstate 40
just east of Kingman Saturday morning. At least one law enforcement official
confirmed the arrest but was unable to provide details.
Dan Balentine, president of the Kingman chapter of the Desert Road Riders, said
his club was scheduled last year to host this month's ACMC meeting. It was
originally scheduled to be held in Fort Mohave but was moved to Kingman so that
riders could protest not only the "no colors" policy, but what the motorcyclists
perceive as harassment on the part of police.
"We feel like law enforcement are the one who are trying to create a bad image
of us," Balentine said.
Police have been tight-lipped about what prompted the surveillance by the State
Gang Task Force in the first place, although Kingman Police Chief Robert DeVries
has said previously that police aren't targeting riders as a whole but rather
those involved in criminal and gang activity.
Musgrave said it is unfair for police to label motorcycle clubs as gangs.
"We are a club, not a gang. We have regular meetings and pay dues," he said.
"Almost everybody here is a law-abiding citizen who has a job and pays their
taxes, just like everyone else."
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