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I found this from another site. Read it and thought "This is just plain Stupid"!!!
Who are these people?????
Not that kind, at least not yet, but the normal kind.
I don't know what all is in that bill, but last night when I was researching something else I stumbled upon just one teensy provision of the bill -- an amendment to the Lacey Act which received no media attention at all, and isn't receiving any now.
This amendment deals with illegal plants -- the primary thrust being illegal wood. Henceforth, all wood is to be a federally regulated, suspect substance. Either raw wood, lumber, or anything made of wood, from tables and chairs, to flooring, siding, particle board, to handles on knives, baskets, chopsticks, or even toothpicks has to have a label naming the genus and species of the tree that it came from and the country of origin. Incorrect labeling becomes a federal felony, and the law does not just apply to wood newly entering the country, but any wood that is in interstate commerce within the country. Here are some excerpts from a summary:
The Lacey Act now makes it unlawful to import, export, transport, sell, receive, acquire, or purchase in interstate or foreign commerce any plant, with some limited exceptions, taken in violation of the laws of a U.S. State, or any foreign law that protects plants. The Lacey Act also makes it unlawful to make or submit any false record, account or label for, or any false identification of, any plant.
The definition of the term "plant" includes "any wild member of the plant kingdom, including roots, seeds, parts, and products thereof, and including trees from either natural or planted forest stands."
[...]
Anyone who imports into the United States, or exports out of the United States, illegally harvested plants or products made from illegally harvested plants, including timber, as well as anyone who exports, transports, sells, receives, acquires or purchases such products in the United States, may be prosecuted. In any prosecution under the Lacey Act, the burden of proof of a violation rests on the government.
[...]
Violations of Lacey Act provisions for timber and other plant products, as well as fish and wildlife, may be prosecuted through either civil or criminal enforcement actions. Regardless of any prosecution, the tainted plants may be seized and forfeited.
Everyone means everyone, which includes every reader of this blog.
Obviously, this means that in the future, the Fish and Game guys will be able to accompany SWAT Team raiders to check all wood in homes and businesses for possible violations. Even if they're wrong in their suspicions about the wood, it can still be confiscated. (Might that be a goal? To beef up employment at Fish and Game?)
Just think about the law enforcement possibilities alone. After kicking through and impounding your illegal wooden door, a federalized army of government termites could literally strip all wood paneling and flooring from every raided house as suspicious contraband, and haul away all the furniture, wood carvings, picture frames, tools, musical instruments! I can't think of a better harassment tool. The list of potentially regulated items is mind-boggling:
emphasis added
Enforcement for some products affected by the amendments was to have begun on Dec. 15 but was postponed until April 1. Enforcement for wood furniture will begin on July 1.
A comment period for federal rulemaking on the amendments ended this week.
Christopher Smith, a compliance specialist with Ikea Wholesale Inc. in Westhampton, N.J., said in comments posted on a federal Web site that record-keeping requirements in the revised Lacey Act will overwhelm supply chains and cause the cost of wooden goods to skyrocket, unless the regulation is narrowed.
An international crackdown on the use of endangered woods from the world's rain forests to make musical instruments bubbled over to Music City on Tuesday with a federal raid on Gibson Guitar 's manufacturing plant, but no arrests.
Agents of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service made a midday appearance and served a search warrant on company officials at Gibson's Massman Drive manufacturing plant, where it makes acoustic and electric guitars.
Gibson issued a statement saying it is "fully cooperating with agents of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service as it pertains to an issue with harvested wood." The company said it did nothing wrong.
Federal officials declined to say whether anything was removed from Gibson's plant or what specifically the agents were trying to find.
Who are these people?????
Not that kind, at least not yet, but the normal kind.
I don't know what all is in that bill, but last night when I was researching something else I stumbled upon just one teensy provision of the bill -- an amendment to the Lacey Act which received no media attention at all, and isn't receiving any now.
This amendment deals with illegal plants -- the primary thrust being illegal wood. Henceforth, all wood is to be a federally regulated, suspect substance. Either raw wood, lumber, or anything made of wood, from tables and chairs, to flooring, siding, particle board, to handles on knives, baskets, chopsticks, or even toothpicks has to have a label naming the genus and species of the tree that it came from and the country of origin. Incorrect labeling becomes a federal felony, and the law does not just apply to wood newly entering the country, but any wood that is in interstate commerce within the country. Here are some excerpts from a summary:
The Lacey Act now makes it unlawful to import, export, transport, sell, receive, acquire, or purchase in interstate or foreign commerce any plant, with some limited exceptions, taken in violation of the laws of a U.S. State, or any foreign law that protects plants. The Lacey Act also makes it unlawful to make or submit any false record, account or label for, or any false identification of, any plant.
The definition of the term "plant" includes "any wild member of the plant kingdom, including roots, seeds, parts, and products thereof, and including trees from either natural or planted forest stands."
[...]
Anyone who imports into the United States, or exports out of the United States, illegally harvested plants or products made from illegally harvested plants, including timber, as well as anyone who exports, transports, sells, receives, acquires or purchases such products in the United States, may be prosecuted. In any prosecution under the Lacey Act, the burden of proof of a violation rests on the government.
[...]
Violations of Lacey Act provisions for timber and other plant products, as well as fish and wildlife, may be prosecuted through either civil or criminal enforcement actions. Regardless of any prosecution, the tainted plants may be seized and forfeited.
Everyone means everyone, which includes every reader of this blog.
Obviously, this means that in the future, the Fish and Game guys will be able to accompany SWAT Team raiders to check all wood in homes and businesses for possible violations. Even if they're wrong in their suspicions about the wood, it can still be confiscated. (Might that be a goal? To beef up employment at Fish and Game?)
Just think about the law enforcement possibilities alone. After kicking through and impounding your illegal wooden door, a federalized army of government termites could literally strip all wood paneling and flooring from every raided house as suspicious contraband, and haul away all the furniture, wood carvings, picture frames, tools, musical instruments! I can't think of a better harassment tool. The list of potentially regulated items is mind-boggling:
emphasis added
Enforcement for some products affected by the amendments was to have begun on Dec. 15 but was postponed until April 1. Enforcement for wood furniture will begin on July 1.
A comment period for federal rulemaking on the amendments ended this week.
Christopher Smith, a compliance specialist with Ikea Wholesale Inc. in Westhampton, N.J., said in comments posted on a federal Web site that record-keeping requirements in the revised Lacey Act will overwhelm supply chains and cause the cost of wooden goods to skyrocket, unless the regulation is narrowed.
An international crackdown on the use of endangered woods from the world's rain forests to make musical instruments bubbled over to Music City on Tuesday with a federal raid on Gibson Guitar 's manufacturing plant, but no arrests.
Agents of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service made a midday appearance and served a search warrant on company officials at Gibson's Massman Drive manufacturing plant, where it makes acoustic and electric guitars.
Gibson issued a statement saying it is "fully cooperating with agents of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service as it pertains to an issue with harvested wood." The company said it did nothing wrong.
Federal officials declined to say whether anything was removed from Gibson's plant or what specifically the agents were trying to find.
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