For the second time in two years, federal agents from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have raided two Tennessee factories that make iconic Gibson guitars. The government alleges that Gibson imported woods in violation of the Lacey Act, a century-old law that makes it a federal crime to trade in plants, wildlife, or timber that have been harvested in violation of “any foreign law.”
While this seems simple enough, and the anti-poaching/conservation impulses behind the law are certainly commendable, the Lacey Act has become one of many federal statutes that create invisible minefields of federal regulations into which anyone can stumble unknowingly.
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A Gibson Les Paul[/caption]
In the Wall Street Journal today, Eric Felten discusses the Gibson raid and points out just how dangerous and overblown the Lacey Act has become. Since plants and timber were added to the act in 2008, even individual owners of vintage guitars can run afoul of the act. Felten writes:
If you are the lucky owner of a 1920s Martin guitar, it may well be made, in part, of Brazilian rosewood. Cross an international border with an instrument made of that now-restricted wood, and you better have correct and complete documentation proving the age of the instrument. Otherwise, you could lose it to a zealous customs agent—not to mention face fines and prosecution.
In addition, all the confusing forms must be filled out completely and perfectly, or you could face heavy penalties.
As a guitarist with an appreciation for vintage gear, as well as a Gibson fan, I’ve been following these stories with both a personal and professional interest. Perhaps Gibson has committed bona fide violations of the Lacey Act and perhaps not. I would guess, given the incentives the law creates, that Gibson has done its best to comply. But complying with a law that requires interpreting the interaction of vague foreign laws with vague domestic laws is easier said than done. Like a legal Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, the laws may not exist until federal prosecutors observe them.
One of the most heartbreaking stories of federal prosecutors running amok with the Lacey Act is the story of Abner Schoenwetter, a grandfatherly Miami seafood importer who spent six years in a federal prison for importing lobster tails that violated the laws of Honduras. Except they didn’t. Honduras filed briefs and testified on behalf of Schoenwetter and his co-defendants, pointing out that what federal prosecutors thought to be Honduran law was not actually Honduran law. Federal prosecutors were unperturbed, however, determined to wipe this menace to society from our streets. (You can read the full, sad story of the case here.)