UPDATE:
On Thursday March 20, 2014 a meeting of the task force trying to ban all sales of ivory was held in Washington DC. About 27 people stood up to make statements and only about 8 were in favor of the ban. There were statements from 3 antiques people , cane collectors, Scrimshanders, musical instruments, orchestra, a knife maker and knife rights people among others. Some of the committee members clearly had not considered the wide ranging impact of this ban which. as proposed, would elevate the sale of ivory to a felony with 5 year prison sentences. Representatives of musical instrument dealers, orchestras, auctioneers, antique collectors, knife dealers and scrimshaw artists stood up and told the Council the Draconian impact that the ban would have on their lives without saving a single African elephant.
The real problem is the poachers in Africa and the huge ivory black market in China but since they don't know how to combat the real problem they want to punish law abiding American citizens. The proposed ban is being championed in the senate by chief gun grabber Sen. Diane Feinstien.
We really do need to make the time and effort to combat another poorly conceived government intrusion. The timing of new rules is not yet clear. There will be something published in the next few weeks addressing CITES that possibly could include revocation of an existing special rule under the Environmental Species Act. This could set up a legal framework prohibiting interstate trade of ivory. They said to expect a 30 day comment period on that rule.
The “final rule” should come out in June, after which there will be a comment period. We specifically asked that these rules not be issued as “interim final rules” which would go into effect immediately, and instead asked that any rules published be subject to comment before they can be enforced. I think we have a good chance of getting this because of the wide ranging concerns raised, but nothing is guaranteed.
What we need to do
1. Call your Congressman and Senators TODAY! Activist groups are already lobbying Congressmen heavily, and they are totally misrepresenting what the regulations and legal changes will do to you. You need to inform them about what the proposed changes in the law will do to you, your collections, your businesses, and your families. The message is simple – We all want to stop elephant poaching, but these laws punish innocent Americans, not elephant poachers or illegal traders in Asia.
2. Call your trade organizations and make sure they are representing you. Groups like the NRA, AARP, collectors associations, professional associations, knife clubs, gun clubs, industry lobbying groups – all of them need to hear from you and be educated about the severity of this threat. These calls have a multiplier effect when they lead back to law makers, and they are starting to get people’s attention!
3. Spread the word on social media. Use Facebook, Twitter, e-mail lists, internet forums, and all the ways you communicate people to spread the word about what the government is doing and why the Domestic Ivory Ban is a very bad idea.