Organizations like the AMA do share some of the concerns that gun owners have about government intrusion in our lives.
As an AMA member I know they fight for the notion of government leaving me alone. I don't agree with everything but the are an effective political lobby and a pain to politicians.
Here is an example of them sticking up for a member:
AMA expands efforts to memorialize motorcyclist
PICKERINGTON, Ohio -- A flood of contributions from motorcyclists nationwide has allowed the
American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) to expand its campaign to memorialize an AMA member
killed by a hit-and-run driver in Tennessee.
Thanks to the outpouring of support, the AMA is continuing to rent two billboards on U.S. Route 321
south of Knoxville, Tenn., and added another on the nearby Alcoa Highway off Interstate 140. The
campaign may be expanded even further as more donations arrive.
The U.S. 321 billboards designate that road as the "Terry Barnard Memorial Highway." Barnard was
killed in October 1996 when state Sen. Carl Koella, driving a van, made a left turn in front of his
oncoming motorcycle. Koella subsequently pleaded "no contest" to leaving the scene of a fatal accident.
The billboard messages were placed there in response to a decision by the Tennessee General Assembly
to designate a part of Interstate 140 as the "Sen. Carl O. Koella Memorial Highway."
Koella died in 1998 from complications following heart surgery.
The new billboard near Interstate 140 urges drivers to "Watch for Motorcycles" in memory of Barnard.
"We cannot believe that state officials in Tennessee couldn't find a more appropriate way to recognize
their former senator," said Robert Rasor, AMA executive vice president. "They have chosen to name a
road after their hit-and-run senator. We are remembering his victim."
AMA members also have written to Tennessee officials protesting the naming of Interstate 140 after
Koella. They've contacted Sen. Bill Clabough, the lead sponsor of the legislation, and Gov. Don
Sundquist, who signed the bill into law. The AMA hopes Tennessee lawmakers will rescind the law
when their legislative session begins in January.
www.ama-cycle.org.