SAMCRO are, technically, an outlaw gang as according to the official definition, which is a group of bikers not sanctioned by the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA), who do not adhere to the AMA's rules and instead have their own set of bylaws they live by. Like, that's the actual definition given by the AMA to such gangs in real life, and we're pretty sure that Jax and company would fall underneath that classification. The American Motorcyclist Association is an nonprofit organisation that counts round about 300,000 motorcyclists amongst its members, who regularly organise charity and community activities based around biking, and campaign for the legal rights of bikers. None of which we've ever seen in an episode of Sons Of Anarchy but, hey, they could easily drop the Hamlet angle and become a drama of bureaucracy for the final season, right? Not only does SAMCRO tend to avoid the basic tennets of the AMA but they openly partake in all the off-the-books activities that actual outlaw gangs do. That's not necessarily illegal activities certainly includes riding Harley-Davidsons and choppers, not conforming to mainstream culture and having a rather close relationship with the other members of their gang. We're not sure the real life gangs are running guns and dealing drugs, but they're outlaws nonetheless.
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
