Bikers miffed that State Fair turned them away

Like the Outlaws motorcycle gang are going to the fair to ride the Farris wheel




TAMPA — They rolled up on motorcycles Sunday, looking for a good time and fried goodies like everyone else at the State Fair.

About 50 bikers from an array of clubs stepped off their hogs wearing group patches on their leather jackets, only to be turned away.

Fair rules, enforced by the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, ban gang colors or signs.

"That's a common practice at the fair and the Strawberry Festival," said Debbie Carter, a sheriff's spokeswoman.

But a lawyer representing the bikers says their First Amendment rights have been violated.

"They're trying to stifle people's rights by using a blanket policy," said Tarpon Springs attorney Jerry Theophilopoulos. "It's suppressing their right to associate in public."

Individual bikers contacted by the Times declined to be interviewed.

Carter defended the fair's policy.

"It's a potential for something to go wrong," Carter said. "People are asked not to display colors for the safety of themselves and everyone else attending."

Sometimes gang members show up wearing the same red bandana slung around their necks, she said. Or they might all wear the same style and color of clothing.

She said deputies stationed at fair entrances, where signs state the rules, give people the option of removing objectionable clothing.

If not, the group must leave.

The bikers left.

Gangs at the fair have been an issue in the past. Fights have erupted between opposing gangs, a big reason why club colors aren't allowed, Carter said.

Last week, a sheriff's gang unit inspected merchandise vendors before the fair opened to ensure that gang-related clothing wasn't for sale. Members of a multi-county task force will also roam the crowds in search of those displaying gang symbols or hints of their affiliations, as the fair is sometimes used as a place to recruit.

The bikers who were turned away Sunday belong to a wide variety of clubs, including the Outlaws. Some are members of the Spirit Riders, a Christian motorcycle club, and the New Attitudes, a group of clean and sober riders.

Theophilipoulos said many of the bikers are simply business executives and owners who like to ride.

"The clubs that were with us, none of them have ever gotten into fights at the fair," Theophilipoulos said. "They're not street gangs, and they are being lumped together."

The lawyer said he called the Sheriff's Office Saturday to tell the agency the bikers were coming. He was told that if they wore their colors, they wouldn't be let in.

They tried to go, anyway.

"Sometimes you have to make a statement, to stand up for what you believe in," the lawyer said.

i guess i dont know what ur getting at but my father belonged to an outlaw club and he took us to the fair and most of the guys came with. yeah there tough on the outside but no different than you and me on the inside.

i'm a little different on the inside than a gang member...even if he does have a teddy bear on the handle bars...imo

cftaf1234.wordpress.com/2009/08/24/biker...ing-bust-mobslugger/


Yeah, just a bunch of great guys... they must have finished cooking their meth early that day and decided to go for a ride.

I hate goons like that.

wildwilly30 wrote:

i guess i dont know what ur getting at but my father belonged to an outlaw club and he took us to the fair and most of the guys came with. yeah there tough on the outside but no different than you and me on the inside.

There are many different people in bike clubs for sure, you cant generalize them all.

The Outlaws however, have a well deserved reputation, and should deffinately be considered a violent gang.

My 2 cents.

now this is what i see wrong here, if a guy belongs to an m.c. hes a gang member? i guess thats what i am then.

wildwilly30 wrote:

now this is what i see wrong here, if a guy belongs to an m.c. hes a gang member? i guess thats what i am then.

if you carry a gun illegally and deal drugs and the majority of your harley riding friends do also, yep, you,re a motorcycle gang member....


if you ride with some guys who might have done a small stretch for dwi and non payment of child support, dont deal, but maybe hit the pipe occasionally and dont carry a gun illegally.....well, thats just a club....

keith1 wrote:

wildwilly30 wrote:

now this is what i see wrong here, if a guy belongs to an m.c. hes a gang member? i guess thats what i am then.

if you carry a gun illegally and deal drugs and the majority of your harley riding friends do also, yep, you,re a motorcycle gang member....


if you ride with some guys who might have done a small stretch for dwi and non payment of child support, dont deal, but maybe hit the pipe occasionally and dont carry a gun illegally.....well, thats just a club....

nice

I have friends that are clubbers, I have another friend his sister is an old lady to one of the Outlaws. I have been to the Outlaw clubhouse in Tampa when I was growing up. I know members of the Renagades, the Highway Men and the Outlaws. Two of the Highway Men rode with our pack to Bike Week two years ago to deliver the ashes of a bro. I have socialized with lots of guys that wear colors but thats not my cup of tea but to each his own. All clubs are not gangs and all gangs are not clubs. Some are criminal enterprises and some are not.

This was clearly a publicity stunt and the lawyers are looking for a buck. I am not against MC clubs I just choose to stay to myself. Most of those guys are decent people but you do have the 1%ers

If the fairs management wants the event to be a safe ,fun,family atmosphere,then the people who fork out the cash to bring in vendors and entertainment have the right to protect the general public and promote the type of enviroment they had envisioned for their event.
The only way to safely screen the people coming through the gates is to set a standard for what is acceptable and appropriate for entry into the event.
I'm sure that biker gangs wearing their colors is not appropriate for a family fair....
I as a citizen and consumer love taking my nieces and nephew to events.....and i love feeling safe and not having to worry about defending them in a crisis...
So if that is stereo typing than i'm guilty......
being offensive in public is'nt cool,and has very little to do with the sport of motorcycling.......

The problem comes when criminals want to act like goons in public. Hey if you wanna deal drugs and kill other scum balls from other gangs that is cool with me... but don't hide behind the first amendment when you get treated differently.

Allowing criminals to flaunt their "lifestyle" in front of children and the media should not be tolerated... I feel the same for gangster rap and even white collar criminals who get off stealing from companies to end up in club-fed.

Criminals deserve the fate of Clyde Barrow... hunt the lawless bastards down; show the children of America that lawlessness is still intolerable in this country.

There's an Outlaw chapter near where I live. At least there's supposed to be. But they keep getting drunk and crashing their choppers, so it's really hard for them to organize a run.