Forgive my cynicism, but the guy died for nothing, and their effort is a might naive. A few hundred motorcyclist with no helmets will do little to nothing to influence a NY lawmaker. While I admire the rider's desire to make change, that isn't how it works today. It's no different than 20 or 30 people protesting war on the village green. It's a wonderful thing, but it accomplishes nothing. When you get up to 3 or 4 million protesters, now you might have some sway. I don't see that happening over NY helmets.
To change that helmet law would require at first boatloads of money pushed around to the the favorite causes and interests of the power brokers in NY legislature as offered by talented and effective, seasoned lobbyists. Even then, the deep pockets of the insurance industry lobby are going to make it a very steep slope to climb. Then there's the problem of re-election vs. repealing a safety law. Imagine the TV commercial spin of "Joe Blow is up for re-election. He's the guy who caused 122 no helmet motorcycle fatalities since 20XX by introducing the bill to repeal the helmet laws." Cut to weeping widows and orphans video footage, & zoom in on on little Jimmy: "If only Daddy had worn his helmet... we wouldn't be surviving on lawn clippings and grubs for dinner"
