You don't know how glad I am that you asked. This has been weighing heavily on my mind the last few days, even more so after participating in the "This type of stuff is going to..." thread below & in the Reticualted Pythons forum.
I stand guilty of "assuming," and we all know what happens when we assume. I pretty much assumed that since these Bill proposals were mentioned here & in the Reticulated Python forum that everybody would check out the "Herp Law & CITES Forum" here at KS. Here's the link to it: forums.kingsnake.com/forum.php?catid=13
HR 669 isn't our only concern as there's another one called S 373. It's my opinion that both proposals have basically the same goal but different tactics. HR 669 is the most popular & most supported, so far, but they're both a serious threat from a force (Congress) to reckon with.
S 373 still only has the one sponsor, Bill Nelson (D) of FL. I used to think of him as a decent fella but after reading his introductory remarks on the measure it was obvious to me that Gordon Rodda and/or the South Florida Water Management District has been fillin' his noggin' with a bunch of nonsense and he's fell for it.
S 373 is still, as of today (02/19/09), in the Federal Committee on Environment and Public Works. Due to the connection between Environmental & Public Works agency and the So. FL Water Mngmt. District, I suspect this measure to get some serious consideration as I'm sure SFWMD is, and has been, hard at work priming the pump.
Hr 669 was referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources on 01/26/09 and on 02/04/09 it was referred to the subcommittee on Insular Affairs, Oceans and Wildlife, where it still is.
This measure has 1 Sponsor that really shouldn't have a right to introduce anything of such. It also has 12 co-sponsors, and if you know anything about these politicians you wouldn't be a bit surprised that they have signed onto this proposal.
Since I've got a lot to say about this I need to take a lil' more time to write an effective response. At least, I hope & pray it will be effective. I'll try to have a good, detailed summary within the next day or so and will post back. I need to review a few things.
Let me go ahead and say that I strongly feel that now is the time to battle. I believe this is a war that cannot & will not be won with a single approach. It's going to take many fronts. It's going to take a lot of infantry men & women. We need action from all reptile keepers, not just from keepers of Pythons or so-called "invasive species" or "injurious animals."
My beliefs:
First attack - Contact sponsors/co-sponsors of the measures in Congress.
Second attack - Contact your local House & Senate representatives with hope of reaching/convincing them before they get their ears full of the hogwash.
Third attack - Contact you city, county & state representatives. If the Congress porposals don't pass you can rest assured that many state, county & city governments will heavily consider doing their own thing about it.
Fourth attack - We need responsible keepers to do lots of pre-arranged public education in schools, at local pet shops, community centers, or anywhere else you can rent a facility or get a permit to hold some kind of reptile conservation/education seminar. We've got to reach more of the public to combat the ignorance that drives this kind of stuff.
We need experienced keepers to contact their local newspaper or TV station to get an interview in order to get our viewpoint across. However, only the well-experienced needs to do so or else someone's gonna make us all look more foolish with just one slip of the tongue or misinformation.
Where the heck are the big-name breeders & keepers? Are they contacting The O'Reilly Factor, David Letterman, Jay Leno, the Today show or any other big venue to try to get on camera and shine the light of reality on our hobby/profession?
The O'Reilly Factor hasn't replied to my requests and challenges of debate on the issue. I like O'Reilly and think that for the most part he is fair & balanced. However, he had a dang animal rights activist on his show Wednesday night talking about the chimp mauling that poor woman & saying he (O'Reilly) wanted to make sure nothing like that or the Las Vegas python incident happens again. But yet he hasn't given the other side (us) a chance to debate.
We have GOT to win in the court of public opinion. Yes, it's an uphill battle, but that doesn't mean we don't try. By education the kids at schools and other venues we are working on the future. Hopefully, if something were to get passed, severely restricting or eliminating the keeping of these beautiful creatures, our only hope of reversing it is with the next generation. They are a prime target.
What we don't need is more bad press from careless keepers or from showoffs. We don't need someone to take their 10ft python for a walk in the park with hopes of gathering a crowd & then trying to educate them. That most always backfires.
While I research some things & craft my next post I strongly urge everyone to take a few minutes to read the threads in the Herp Law & CITES Forum. Sorry for not posting individual links but I'm afraid I might miss a thing or two. Read any thread/post that says HR 669, S 373, TOM CRUTCHFIELD tell us how it really is, HR 6311
Particularly make use of the sponsor/co-sponosor info provided by Cindy Faust (PHFaust). forums.kingsnake.com/view.php?id=1654155,1654155 That contact list is lacking the latest two co-sponsors, Barbara lee & Barney Franks but I copied it from a post in the Reticulated Python forum by: "EricWI" Here it is below:
Representative Barbara Lee
Oakland District Office
1301 Clay Street Suite 1000-N
Oakland, CA 94612
Phone: (510) 763-0370
Fax: (510) 763-6538
Hours: M-F: 9am - 5pm PST
Washington, D.C. Office
2444 Rayburn HOB
Washington, D.C. 20515
Phone: (202) 225-2661
Fax: (202) 225-9817
Hours: M-F: 9am - 5pm EST
Representative Barney Frank
2252 Rayburn Building
Washington, DC 20515
tel: (202) 225-5931
fax: (202) 225-0182
29 Crafts Street
Newton, MA 02458
tel: (617) 332-3920
fax: (617) 332-2822
I've not double-checked the contact info of any of these but I assume they're right. I'll try to get in touch with Cindy to see if she can add the latest bandwagon jumpers on to her list in the Herp Law & CITES Forum.
Just remember, abusive and/or degrading language or attitude will get us nowhere, fast. Either PIJAC or USARK has a pretty good copy/paste statement & they encourage additional info to be added. Keep in mind that it's our goal to be influential, not degrading (or honest about their character). Ha! Ha! I'm just pickin'.
Take a look at PIJAC's site: www.pijac.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=1 (follow links on left of page) and also USARK's site: www.usark.org/ (follow the links in the top banner, particualrly the "Laws & Campaigns" link).
To find and contact your federal, state, and local officials, and to find out the status any Bill and/or see vote tallies of Bills go to Congress .org: www.congress.org/congressorg/home/
Please, everyone, read all you can about these things & please DO all you can bout it. We even need to gecko keepers, frog keepers, etc... I promise you all that I'll be right there with you when they come after yours. 
Ya'll have a great day! 
Mike Sanders
(HH)
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Due to political correctness run amuck,
this ol' hillbilly is now referred to as an:
Appalachian American
www.natures-signature.com
