A few points about Representative Kahn's call for a continuation of the mandatory nature of bicycle registration in Minneapolis:
-- The most important goal at this point is to remove from the MPD a power they have proven they can and will abuse. If we can draft a measure do that without repealing the requirement, I'd be open to supporting it. I doubt its effectiveness, however; if we leave the door open even a sliver, I believe the police will do their best to exploit and expand their power. My reading of the purpose and language of the current law does not give the cops the right to do what they have done to past Critical Masses. They've overstepped their authority, pushed it right to the edge of what the law will allow, and I think they'll do it again if we leave them even a morsel. -- I have a serious problem with any law that is almost universally disregarded and broken, usually without the individual having any idea it even exists. Ask a bicyclist off the street if their bike is registered, and the common responses range from a quizzical frown to a request for clarification to the statement, "registered with who?" I think bike registration is a good system to have. But I think it's a bad idea to criminalize the actions of the majority in a way that makes vocal minorities more subject to police action due to the very volume of their speech. -- Through the local property taxes that make my rent so high, and through my state and federal income tax, I subsidize the behavior of automobile users. I don't think it's unreasonable that there should be some reciprocity in that relationship. Why should I be forced to register my bike partially to pay for bike trails? -- I would like to thank Representative Kahn for writing the original law in a way that preserves grassroots democracy and encourage her not to attempt to make the registration requirement a top-down dictate from the state, even if the largest city in the state goes against her preference. In my view, the state is playing exactly the right role in this situation: creating a system with the added efficiency of regularity, but enabling municipalities to use it how they see fit. -- The best way to confirm that bicycles are indeed vehicles is to fairly prosecute complaints against drivers who treat us as if we were otherwise. I understand Kahn's point, but the bicycle registration system is so dissimilar from the driver registration system (the primary difference being that one tracks the vehicle and the other tracks the user) that the comparison doesn't make much sense. Especially if the majority of users do not know it exists -- imagine a police stop in which the driver of an automobile claimed not to know he or she was supposed to have a license. That's all I have to say right now. If you'll excuse me, I have to go to the hospital to see if my arm is broken from the car door that was opened into me as I biked to work this morning. Robin Garwood Seward P.S. Broken or not, I'll be in Loring Park tomorrow to take part in Critical Mass, and if you're a bicyclist or if you're interested in police accountability, you should be there too. _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
