The illogic of the NY and NJ bans signifies how gut-driven and ideological the anti-ivory thing is at heart.

They also demonstrate how politicians can put through anything they like into law--nonsensical as it might be.

Most of the animal rights and environmental groups are membership-wide devoted to a total ban on any ownership and sale of ivory--period.

These groups and their political associates form a closed-loop thinking circle where what someone asserts becomes the mantra that all of them adhere to, irrespective of logic or contradictory facts, information, or arguments. The classic definition of a closed mind.

And the politicians who initiate such ideas (no need to name them again here) seem to be able to galvanize these groups in support of causes like the ban, and can count on that devotion carrying through at the polls.

So--while we get a lot of solicitations for donations to "save" some species, we now screen them and do not donate to any that support the ban.

The last I heard, The Nature Conservancy did not support the ban, and the National Geographic Society might not (at least it is willing to publish alternative points of view, which the ideologues will not do).

So we donate to the Conservancy. And when it comes to the Humane Society of the US--we only donate to local shelters.

Here are a couple of links for readers here to explore:

http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/...#comment-398956

http://elephantprotection.org/

Larry