Stand With Gibson

Gibson Activism

Anyone who follows me on Twitter is probably aware that the Federal raids of Gibson Guitars’ plants in Tennessee, on August 24th, have become somewhat of an obsession to me. It angers me, and apparently many others on several levels.  It has also spurred me to become something of an activist.

In the past, the extent of my activism has been to contact my Senators and Congressman. This time, because of this outrageousness of Gibson’s situation I have decided to become more involved. I have taken to tweeting Gibson artists, asking for their support, and thanking them for responding or publicly speaking out for the company. I’ve also been tweeting and retweeting any stories or facts related to the situation.

Most recently, I sent e-mails to my Senators and Congressman. In the e-mails I outlined the facts of the situation and why it outrages me. I also outlined the apparent illegal nature of the raids; the application of foreign law as their basis, the lack of an affidavit supporting the warrant, and the fact that no charges have been filed, regarding the August raids, or the ones in 2009. I also outlined the blatant political motives behind the raids. I then asked them to address this when they returned to session.

So far I only Sen. Richard Shelby has responded. In his response he outlined what he knew of the situation, and is obviously aware of the facts. He concluded in stating that he will “monitor the situation” whatever that means, and that he will keep me in his thoughts as the situation moves forward.

While it was not the fiery response that I had hoped for, he did provide a thoughtful response. That is much more than I’m sure many can expect from their elected officials. Hopefully he will be able to help with the situation.

I encourage everyone to contact their members of Congress. They might not respond, or even do anything to help, but the chances of any of them taking action don’t change, if they don’t hear from their constituents.

Also, I encourage everyone to sign Gibson’s online petition requesting the Obama Administration to resolve their inquiry. At this moment, it has more than 22,000 signatures.

Please follow Craig on Twitter!