Could your guitar be legally seized because of the wood it's made from?

[Speed Demon]

This may be well worth your time to go and read, especially if you tour or travel with your guitars.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/05/18/law-could-be-used-to-seize-musicians-guitars-may-need-fix-senator-says/

[T.C. Elliott]

Legally as in they passed a law or legally because it's a constitutional law? Different answer depending on which question you ask.

[Speed Demon]

T.C. its called the Lacey Act. Exotic and rare wood was added to the list in 2008, so any guitar made with exotic  and/or endangered wood, after the date the law was amended, is illegal. That is why the Gibson factory was raided by the Feds, twice, and over a half million dollars worth of wood was confiscated.

Instruments made prior to the date of this amendment are exempted.

[launched]

Unless sawdust and plywood count, I have nothing to worry about!

[Speed Demon]

You still have to worry. The termites have been eyeballing your guitars for a while now.

Who ya gonna call!?

[T.C. Elliott]

T.C. its called the Lacey Act. Exotic and rare wood was added to the list in 2008, so any guitar made with exotic  and/or endangered wood, after the date the law was amended, is illegal. That is why the Gibson factory was raided by the Feds, twice, and over a half million dollars worth of wood was confiscated.

Instruments made prior to the date of this amendment are exempted.

The Gibson factory was raided and no charges have ever been filed, right? They have no evidence whatsoever. I wonder if they ever returned the items they stole confiscated.  I read that they hadn't even made a statement about the raid up to a year afterwards. They just went in, stole some inventory and walked out and not a word about due process.
***TOPIC ALERT: POLITICS*** Both the republicans and the democrats voted for, and Obama signed, NDAA last year which now makes the U.S. one of a handful of countries (like Cuba and North Korea) that has indefinite detention without a hearing or trial. If they can lock you up forever without a hearing I'm sure stealing your stuff (with or without cause) isn't gonna make a blip on their radar.

[Speed Demon]

Thieves rarely return what they steal. Why should a government be any different?

They fret and posture and throw good money after bad. IE the war on drugs.

Drugs enter this country by the ton on nearly a daily basis, yet the powers that be appear to be more concerned
about a few thousand pounds of wood.

If the politicians have their way with this, the next generation of guitars may well be made of plastic, by Mattel.
A good example of this: The M-16 military rifle.

Or cheap plywood.

Make mine out of pressure-treated cheap plywood, so I don't have to cancel an outdoor gig because its raining.

Which organization has caused the most harm to everyone? Guitar makers, or the sorry-assed clowns running America's banking system?

I rest my case.

[chip]

Thieves rarely return what they steal. Why should a government be any different?

They fret and posture and throw good money after bad. IE the war on drugs.

Drugs enter this country by the ton on nearly a daily basis, yet the powers that be appear to be more concerned
about a few thousand pounds of wood.

If the politicians have their way with this, the next generation of guitars may well be made of plastic, by Mattel.
A good example of this: The M-16 military rifle.

Or cheap plywood.

Make mine out of pressure-treated cheap plywood, so I don't have to cancel an outdoor gig because its raining.

Which organization has caused the most harm to everyone? Guitar makers, or the sorry-assed clowns running America's banking system?

I rest my case.

Gotta agree with that, and I will add the UK to the banker list too.

[T.C. Elliott]

This article is talking about what some politicians are trying to do to 'fix' the Lacey Act.
Possible Change To The Lacey Act

The "sorry assed clowns running the banking system" is the federal government. The banks were told by regulators to make loans to people who did not qualify after congress changed the rules to allow Freddie Mac and Fanny Mae to back more loans and "make more money." Then when then the inevitable happened the government blamed the banks for making bad loans. The common denominator in both instances was the government. I'm a libertarian less from choice than by no viable alternative.

[Speed Demon]

I don't hear anyone in government squealing and honking about the so-called "blood diamonds" coming out of Africa.

I can't even make a wild guess as to how many people in the USA are wearing one right now.