Thousands of bikers from all across Texas descended on the State Capitol earlier this morning to lobby lawmakers.

“They're our legislators as well as your legislators,” said one biker, not giving his name. Texas bikers, represented by the TMRA (Texas Motorcycle Roadriders Association) are angry that the law does not go far enough to punish people who injure bikers through negligence.

“People aren’t watching what they're doing and we’re here today to try to get the legislature to help make these roads safer,” said Scott, who biked in from North Texas this morning. For Scott, it's not just about safeguarding bikers, but about everyone on Texas’ roads.

“If we do a violation on our bikes, we want them to come and bust our hind ends too. It's time we got the roads in Texas safer,” said Scott.

Patch, an El Paso biker, who took 12 hours riding down to Austin on Sunday, says that automobiles failing to yield to motorcycles is “our number one problem.”

“(In El Paso) we’ve had 11 riders go down this year. Five of those were failure to yield/right of way (violations) … Border cities tend to be worse … so we have a lot of that.”

The TMRA is embarking on a “Justice for all” campaign that “seeks to increase penalties, including fines … suspensions and jail time, for those who commit traffic offenses that injure or kill others.”

“We’re trying to get some bills passed,” said Buck from Hurst, Texas.

These include a fine from $200-$1,000 and a license suspension of up to six months for anyone convicted of a right-of-way-violation causing injury to
a motorcyclist, and the inclusion of a “motorcycle awareness component in the State driver education curriculum.”

After everyone had parked, the contingent marched up the steps of the Capitol in a column before reciting the pledge of allegiance. Afterward, they entered the building en mass, intent at tracking down their individual legislators before meeting in the Texas House at 1 pm.

At 1 p.m., state Rep. Norma Chavez, D-El Paso, welcomed the bikers to the Capitol in a House Resolution. Chavez praised bikers as “defenders of the constitution and working families" and for being "proud Texans.” Chavez also pointed out that there are over 430,000 registered motorcycles in Texas and over 887,000 Texans licensed to operate them.

Loud cheers from the biker-packed gallery greeted the resolution, which resolved that the Texas House “welcome all those motorcyclists participating in Legislative Day“ and extended to them "sincere best wishes for an enjoyable and memorable visit."