Wow. That is just so freakin' wrong.

That ****ttt be on the radio and on the news for a long time now ...if it wasn't the wood of making them fine guitars ,If they would start making them out of the same wood like they been doing the last over 100 years or so they wouldn't be in the mess they are in now .....Agree or NOT

This whole situation is scary something is wrong in this country

I agree. Save them.............from themselves. The current ownership of that company has been been playing fast and loose with the restrictions on "forbidden" woods. And, please don't tell me that Gibson is being singled out. Fender makes a lot more guitars in the USA than Gibson makes. Fender not only answers to the feds and their surprise inspections, they also have the state of California popping in unannounced. Forbidden woods are not a problem with Fender. I don't think that Taylor or Martin have had those issues either. This is not political on my part. But, then again, Gibson is not Halliburton.

I'm more talking about the actions of busting in the door with the SWAT team. The way force was applied was overdone.

There must have been some underlying reasons for the type of raid vs an unannounced inspection. I know that in the 1950's and 1960's someone could have a lot of fun entering the Fender factory, and yelling: "MIGRE". Many of the work force would quickly disappear to never return. Why the SWAT team was used at Gibson (if they were, indeed, used) is a mystery to me.

I removed the comment to which you responded because it came off as though I have inside knowledge about what goes on inside Gibson. I do not. I only have second hand info from people I know who have bailed from that company under the current ownership. These folks feel fortunate to have gotten out alive.

I really hope there was some underlying reason that we don't know about.

That article seems to have a specific sensationalistic lean to it.

Here is another article which seems a little more even handed, or at least it gives a good explanation of why they are going after them.

http://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/news/2011/09/28/feds-to-gibson-give-us-more-wood.html?ana=e_pft

"As has been the case in previous allegations, at issue is the classification of certain wood imported to the United States from India. Namely, a June shipment of 1,250 sawn logs was classified as "finished parts of musical instruments," which is allowed under Indian law. In reality, according to the sworn affidavit of Fish and Wildlife Service agent Kevin Seiler, the wood was unfinished – a violation of the Lacey Act.

The Lacey Act, originally passed by Congress in 1900, was amended in 2008 as part of that year’s Farm Bill to include protection for certain wood and endangered animal species. At its core, the Lacey Act makes it illegal to import plants or wildlife into the U.S. if those goods are harvested in a way that violates the laws of another country.

In other words, because Indian workers didn’t create the final product, it’s not legally eligible to be exported."

"“It is clear that Gibson understands the purpose of the Lacey Act, and understands that … fingerboard blanks are not finished fingerboards and thus Gibson is aware that its order for fingerboard blanks was an order for contraband ebony wood or ebony wood which is illegal to possess," Seiler wrote."

I'm not saying I agree with SWAT teams going into a guitar factory, but the second article makes it pretty clear what they are alleging that Gibson is doing. Of course "fingerboard blank" is not defined in the article so it could be up to interpretation as to what constitutes a finished part.

If it's a slab of wood with no profiling or fret slots, which I wouldn't expect it to have, it's a piece of lumber, not a finished part under any reasonable definition.

There`s no .."gear-up" for a guitar factory, or Willy Wonka`s either,...it`s just "gear-up" for search and seizure !!