Mark, I don't doubt you're right, but I can't find anything to confirm this. Would you mind sharing the source?
Sure, here it is from Robert Mitchell of Elephant Protection Association.
New York Law Banning Possession and Transportation of Ivory Fails Due to Your Activism!
When the emergency alert went out about the New York Big 5 African Species Bill went out last week, you responded, and you made a difference! The New York Legislature has adjourned, and, at least for now, the bill has died on the table.
When I sent out the alert last week, the New York Senate was in the process of voting on the Big 5 Bill. No one was expecting this bill to come up, and the Senate actually voted to pass the bill and send it to the NY Assembly. However, because of your response, including hard work from coalition members NRA and Knife Rights, the Senate recalled the bill from the Assembly and wiped out the vote by Reconsidering the bill. That action nullified the original Senate vote, preventing the bill from moving any further. Now that the legislative session is adjourned, the bill cannot advance.
This is a big deal. You litterally helped snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. I received lots of feedback from people who called their Senators. That feedback showed the Senators did not realize what they had voted upon and were very concerned when you informed them of the harm that criminalizing possession of ivory would cause. Your calls - calls from constituents who care - combined with other lobbying efforts carried the day!
While we should celebrate this victory, we need to remember that this bill can still come back in future legislative sessions. What this shows, much like the other victories we have enjoyed in state legislatures this year, is that the best way to fight an ivory ban is to make sure your legislators are informed about its true implications. Our record to date is that informed legislators do not pass ill conceived ivory bans, but it is clear that ivory ban proponents do not intend to give up the fight.
California, Washington, Delaware, and Federal Regs on the Horizon
While you should take pride in accomplishments so far, there's not much time for rest. California's proposed ivory ban, AB96, looks as though it may be passed by the legislature before California adjourns in July. The next step would be to the governor. We will try to keep you appraised of the progress of this bill and what you can do to stop it.
Although we were able to stop the Washington State legislature from passing an ivory ban, special interests in Washington are working on a voter initiative to supercede the legislature. Professional Activists are currently gathering the needed signatures to put that measure on the ballot for Washington this fall. They must submit signatures by early July, and with the professional organizations behind the signature gathering process, it would be shocking if they could not meet this burden. That means people from Washington in particular will need to be ready to speak out. There's a huge publicity campaign building against ivory, and speaking truth to these monied interests will be our best defense.
Delaware has introduced SB156. Like other ivory bans, it also sweeps in ivory from mammoths, hippos and other listed species. It has limited exceptions for pre 1975 musical instruments containing less than 15% of ivory and antiques older than 100 years with less than 5% of ivory. It also has steep penalties reaching beyond $50,000 and a year in prison. Unique with this ban is a $500 reward for informants who give law inforcement information leading to a conviction under this provision. People from Delaware - oppose this ban by contacting your state legislators, especially state senators!
Federal Law
US Fish & Wildlife has been saying since last summer that new regulations that would change or repeal the Special Rule for African Elephants will be out in a couple of months or a matter of weeks. We know that FWS coordinated a proposed version of the regulation with the Office of Management and Budget early this year which has not been shared publicly. We also know that FWS has asked Congress not to legislate on this issue until their proposed regulation is published. FWS claims the proposed regulation will contain de minimis exceptions that should take care of concerns expressed by legal ivory owners.
We remain very skeptical of FWSs claims about satisfying legal ivory owners concerns, especially given the harm that is already taking place under Directors Order 210 and other agency actions. If they actually solved problems, why have they not been discussed publicly? Our experience with New York suggests that de minimis exceptions will be too narrowly drawn to help most people who own items that incorporate ivory, that any possible licensing scheme wont actually result in the grant of licenses to trade ivory, and that it is just an attempt to split the coalition opposed to banning legal ivory.
In Congress, Congressman Don Youngs African Elephant Conservation and Legal Ivory Possession Act of 2015 (H.R. 697) has been included in what is known as the Sportsmens Package of legislation in the House of Representatives. This legislation has bipartisan support and is working its way through committee. Similar language is not included in a companion measure pending in the Senate, although we expect a bill similar to what Senator Alexander offered in the last legislative session will be offered in the Senate soon. Regardless, legislation is pending in Congress that would protect legal ivory owners. In addition to this legislation, language to protect ivory owners has been approved at the committee level in the House as part of the Department of Interiors appropriations process. The most useful thing you can do right now at the federal level is to contact your Senators and encourage them to protect the rights of legal ivory owners. When a bill is offered on the Senate side, we will send out a more specific alert.
If and when FWS publishes a regulation, we believe there will be a 60 day comment period following publication. It will be crucial for as many people as possible to make comments to FWS during this period. We will send an alert and instructions as fast as possible once we learn of publication. Once that period closes, FWS will need to consider and respond to comments in any publication of a final regulation. That process, too, is likely to take months. Bottom line the earliest there is likely to be any significant change in the law at the federal level will be late this year.
As I said at the top of this message - congratulations on a job well done in New York, but we have a lot more to do!
And Knife rights
Knife Rights Wins Two in New York
Third Win Blocked by Senate Republicans
With the adjournment of the New York Legislature, Knife Rights and knife owners can chalk up two wins and one disappointing loss. Both the proposed Machete Ban and the Draconian Ivory Possession and Transportation Ban were defeated. The "fix" to the gravity knife statute that would end bogus New York City knife arrests did not pass for the second year in a row. (Details can be found below.)
However, the wins and loss come with an asterisk. All three bills will remain active through next year's session, beginning where they left off this year. So, we'll have to be back in Albany next year to again lobby against against both bills we defeated this year and to support the "fix" to the state's gravity knife law that didn't get over the finish line this year.
Senate leadership has assured Knife Rights that they will consider a knife law reform bill next year. Knife Rights encourages all New York knife law reform supporters and Second Amendment supporters to hold the Senators' feet to the fire over the next six months. At every opportunity, every meeting, every town hall, keep up the pressure by insisting they support knife law reform next
