Gibson Guitar Raids, part 1

By now it’s old news: Armed Federal agents raided the Gibson Guitar plants in Nashville and Memphis, allegedly looking for “illegal wood”. Maybe they were afraid that Gibson’s guitar-makers would reach for their AK-47s, set up barriers of ironwood and teak, and shoot it out.

The apparent basis for the raids is a hundred-year-old law called the Lacey Act. This is a law written in 1900. The original purpose of the law was to

… prohibit trade in wildlife, fish, and plants that have been illegally taken, possessed, transported or sold.
… by making it a separate offense to take, possess, transport, or sell wildlife that has been taken in violation of those laws.
…
The Lacey Act is administered by the Departments of the Interior, Commerce, and Agriculture through their respective agencies. These include the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Marine Fisheries Service, and Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

Note the emphasis on “wildlife”.

The Act has been amended (expanded):

… expanded to include amphibians, reptiles, mollusks, and crustaceans.

In 1981, … Indigenous plants were also added to the protected species.

The amendments also allowed for warrantless arrest for felony violations under the Act and expansion of the role of federal wildlife agents.

In 1988, they expanded it to include “big game hunters” who conducted illegal hunts.

The Lacey Act now stands as one of the broadest and most comprehensive forces in the federal arsenal to combat wildlife crime.

A definitive law article on the Act is titled “The Lacey Act: America’s Premier Weapon in the Fight Against Unlawful Wildlife Trafficking”.

Again: the emphasis is on wildlife.

Continued tomorrow……

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