Opinion ID: 75950
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Outlaws Motorcycle Club

Text: 2 The Outlaws Motorcycle Club was founded at a bar just outside of Chicago in 1935. It has since grown to include 64 chapters in the United States and chapters in eight other countries. The United States is divided into five regions, and each other country is considered a region. Chapter presidents report to their regional president. The regional presidents report to the international president. 3 Each chapter has a clubhouse. These clubhouses are used for church meetings, parties, and privacy, and they are usually secured by concrete walls, steel doors, razor wire, guard dogs, and video surveillance. 4 The Outlaws profess to be 1%ers, or the one-percent of bikers who have rejected societal norms and dedicated their lives to the club. Membership is limited to men who own American-made motorcycles of a particular size, and membership dues are divided between the chapter and the region. A prospective member is first a hang-around or associate. He then becomes a probate and, finally, a patched member. 5 A patched member is entitled to wear a leather or denim vest bearing an Outlaws emblem, called colors. The patch is surrounded by chapter and club membership information, called rockers. These emblems are purchased directly from the international president. A patched member is also allowed to attend the weekly church meetings, while associates, probates, and old ladies wait outside. After being a member in good standing for a year, an Outlaw may wear a tattoo depicting the Outlaws emblem. 6 An Outlaw's tattoos can reflect other membership information as well. An Outlaw who commits murder, attempts murder, or explodes a bomb on behalf of the Outlaws is entitled to wear lightning bolts, a Nazi-style SS tattoo. An Outlaw who has spent time in jail may receive an LL tattoo, which stands for Lounge Lizard. 7 Membership in the Outlaws has its privileges. The Outlaws maintain a list of Lounge Lizards, or incarcerated Outlaws, and collect money on their behalf. Chapters also encourage the Lounge Lizards' old ladies and fellow Outlaws to send letters to imprisoned members. 8 While the Outlaws are allied with the Bandidos, a Southwestern motorcycle club, they have rivalries with several other clubs. Their dislike of Hell's Angels is expressed in their slogans AHAMD, or All Hell's Angels Must Die, and ADIOS, or Angel's Die in Outlaws States. They also dislike the Pagans and the Warlocks. 9 The Outlaws collect information on their rivalries with other clubs. They primarily collect newspaper clippings regarding incidents with other clubs. On occasion, though, an Outlaws member will bribe a law enforcement officer to obtain information on the location of a rival club's members. Outlaws also travel, at the club's direction, to the funerals of fellow bikers.