The Lacey Act Declarations Form! Are you kidding me?

Here I am with a USDA/APHIS PPQ FORM 505. I'm trying to figure out how exactly I'm supposed to fill this thing out.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Lacey Act
• Gibson
• Taylor
• Seagull
• Department of Justice
• Congress
• police
• US Customs

[NathanOzcan]

Hey Man,

I completely understand your problems with the Lacey Act. The whole point of it is to make YOU/Gibson responsible for what you are purchasing. Your nut for instance. You should go back and trace it. Illegal logging is an enormous problem for the international communities. Illegal logging in foreign countries often includes child labor, the destruction of forests and bio-diversity. Its incredibly important to maintain the Lacey Act so that this stops. It sucks its a hassle but...

[SentryNombre]

@NathanOzcan: I understand the importance of protecting the environment. Be that as it may, it makes no sense to attack 1 manufacturer out of an industry that utilizes less than 1% of all timber that is logged. Furthermore, the question is begged: How can I look at that nut and know the genus and species of it? Can YOU look at a piece of bone and tell which animal it came from? I do not understand how this law is superior, or assists CITES which is an international treaty.

[NathanOzcan]

@SentryNombre No of course you can't. I think it would be ridiculous if they took your guitar under the Lacey Act (which is something airport authorities don't do, I've been in and out of Scotland many times with guitars). If you are shipping the guitar, under the 'due care' statute, you need to clarify what you are shipping. If you found the bone in the backyard I think you could make a reasonable guess, but if you purchased whatever parts from a shop, they should be able to tell where they

[SentryNombre]

@NathanOzcan. That's the issue in a nutshell, Nathan. Legally that documentation IS asking for that information. I'm not going to mince over how selectively the government decides to enforce the laws...but the laws are on the books, and they're wide open for interpretation, and subsequent abuse. If the laws are going to work, they have to work for everyone. Lacey will fail in its intentions if no one can abide by it, and no one can enforce it other than selectively. .

[NathanOzcan]

@SentryNombre Yeah man, I agree. Lawmakers need to look at what they've written a bit more selectively, perhaps in "PeopleSpeak" rather than legal speak. I think with Lacey though, that if it starts Really getting abused (I don't think the Gibson case was one of abuse) then we will see changes to the act. Do you know what the policy is on vintage guitars that may have used Brazilian Rosewood? I'd be interested in seeing how it would be implemented in a case like that...

[SentryNombre]

@NathanOzcan Brazilian Rosewood guitars have required documentation via CITES and they're only legal if the guitars were manufactured prior to 1967 unless there's a special case. (and you have to prove it.) Lacey Act currently does not have a retro date in effect...so technically, legally, if I'm not mistaken, you have a guitar made prior to 1900 with a Braz Board (before Lacey)...and if they catch you...it's illegal. Right now the worst thing someone could do is offer compliance.

[NathanOzcan]

@NathanOzcan came from. This is important because you become a mini-retailer in this next transactionary step.

[NathanOzcan]

@NathanOzcan it sucks so much more that there is some five year old kid hacking at wood all day, or people living below the poverty line fighting each other over a protected grove of trees or contributing to government corruption that leads to a culture of corruption which leads to violence throughout Developing communities. I would suggest writing to the guitar companies to find out what is in your guitar and what it is made out of before you ship it outside of the country. :(

[pillsburyrampage]

I don't like Bush but he vetoed the Lacey act, and congress overrode it. 

[SentryNombre]

@MrGuitarbike

It's a Seagull made by Godin. Lefty 12 strings are rare and I didn't want to spend a ton of money. That guitar was head and shoulders better than the MiM Martin equivalent. (My favorite thing about that guitar is the headstock. It rarely goes out of tune due to the design which is great on a guitar like that.)