Obama Administration Raids Gibson Guitars, Keeps America Singin’ The Blues

In yet another failed economic policy decision, Obama continued his assault on jobs in America when his administration raided the Gibson guitar factory this week.

In the raid – the second on Gibson in the past two years – several pallets of Indian ebony, used to make fretboards, were seized when armed agents executed four search warrants on Gibson factories and offices in Memphis and Nashville, Tennessee.

Gibson, the storied maker of the Les Paul electric and iconic instruments like the ES-150 jazz guitar played by Charlie Christian, has been a leader in corporate responsibility on ethically sourced hardwoods. The company’s chairman and CEO, Henry Juszkiewicz, issued a strongly worded statement defending his company’s manufacturing policies. “The wood the government seized Wednesday is from a Forest Stewardship Council certified supplier,” he said.

According to the company, the U.S. Justice Department indicated that the wood was confiscated because it was not finished by Indian workers, in violation of the department’s interpretation of Indian law. In other words, the tree may have been harvested in India, but shipped elsewhere to be fashioned into blank fretboards. But the Indian government, Gibson says, never complained.

Gibson Guitar Corporation CEO Harry Juszkiewicz addresses reporters the day after federal agents raided the company’s Tennessee facilities…

Gibson is the only guitar company targeted by the Obama Department Of Justice under the
Lacey Act. In 2009 the Feds seized guitars and pallets of wood from a Gibson factory, and both sides have been wrangling over the goods in a case with the name “United States of America v. Ebony Wood in Various Forms.”

Let’s not overlook the fact that Gibson Guitars is located in Tennessee — a right-to-work state. Other guitar companies located in forced-union states have not been targeted: Fender, Taylor, Rickenbacker, Danelectro, Carvin, MusicMan, and ESP
are in California;
Spector is in New York;
Martin is in Pennsylvania;
Guild, Ovation, and Hamer are in Connecticut;
Alvarez is in Missouri;
B.C. Rich is in Kentucky;
Heritage is in Michigan;
Washburn is in Illinois.

Typical of government interference into our lives, if an instrument is confiscated, the onus is on the owner to prove compliance. Many musicians own vintage musical instruments made out of materials that are now subject to environmental protection. Who’s to say that these precious instruments won’t be confiscated by overzealous border agents if these musicians travel internationally? Guitarists with an old Martin guitar made of now-protected Brazilian rosewood could have their valuable instrument taken away from them unless they have proper documentation on its age, or even a permit if it contains binding, bridges or other parts made from now-banned species, unless those parts are old enough to qualify for an exemption.

Thanks, Obama. I guess Americans will just have to love singing the blues until you’re unemployed.

Oh yeah, one more thing — American First Lady Michelle Obama recently presented France’s First Lady, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, with a Gibson Hummingbird acoustic guitar as “a sign of friendship.”

With friends like these, who needs jobs?

Greg Victor

Greg Victor (Parcbench Culture Editor) is a big fan of autodidacticism. He has a Masters in History and appreciates how Parcbench allows him to share his passion for all things cultural (especially music, film, theatre and tennis). He has stage managed many theatrical productions on Broadway and on tour, and is currently on an international tour with the Frank Sinatra musical "Come Fly Away." He is a proud member of the Country Music Association (CMA), and loves bringing talented artists to the attention of Parcbench readers.

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