Hope y'all are aware and wrote to every congressman you could. I did. I was surprised to hear back from my Illinois representative, Henry Hyde. Hopefully, he is a cigar smoker. Here is his reply:
Thank you for your letter expressing your concerns regarding the inclusion of a cigar mail order ban in H. R. 2824, the "Internet Tobacco Sales Enforcement Act." The Senate version of this bill contains language that is not included in the House version.

S. 1177, the "Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act," contains a provision which prohibits the carriage of "tobacco products" through the U. S. mail. H. R. 2824, however, does not contain that prohibition or any other postal ban on cigars, cigarettes or smokeless tobacco. I am a member of the House Judiciary Committee and no amendment has been submitted by any member to add a provision banning mail order cigars to H. R. 2824.

As you might know, H. R. 2824 was referred to the Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property of the House Committee on the Judiciary. On October 2, that subcommittee considered H. R. 2824, and reported it favorably to the full committee by a voice vote. Please be assured I will give your views and concerns every consideration as the legislative process moves forward.

Thank you again for taking the time to give me the benefit of your input on this issue. It was good to hear from you.


Very Truly Yours,

Henry J. Hyde
Member of Congress

Interesting, he mentions "US Mail". Not UPS, Fed Ex, etc. Hell, I'm still confused on what the real skinny is in these bills.

Ya, that caught my eye, too.

Heya all, I'm stationed over here in South Korea (The land of the Morning Calm) and am wondering what the latest is on this issue. We get all of our cigars (Well minus the Cubans we go down the street and buy) from America so this bill will impact us greatly over here. Anyone have an update on what's happening? Appreciate any input.

Your lucky, I contacted both Senators in Idaho about the bills and got back automated responses." Your concerns are my concerns, blah, blah blah.." I do think that they will contact me. I just hope that everyone else has contacted there respective elected Officials.

He's right. The house version is different than the senate's. Thing is, if it passes the house, which version becomes law? Or which does the President sign?

morningcalm: first off, have no worries about getting sticks from the US of A. no matter what, i'm sure that our mili guys will be taken care of -- one way or another!

yeah, the "does it or doesn't it" debate rages on, and there's still no clarity.

it sucks for people who don't have cigar retailers nearby, but i gotta say that as a disabled guy it's not so great for me either. i have 2 stores nearby, but i get out there if i'm lucky maybe once every couple of months (i get out of the house once every 1-2 weeks in general). i guess i could just wait and wait to go to the shops, but living on next to nothing i really have to watch for super-duper price slashing specials.

there are a couple of house brand no-band sticks ($1-2)that i like to pick up locally when i can, but for anything else, cbid is really THE way to go. i hate to think of that supply line being cut.

more than anything, though, it pisses me RIGHT off that our "for the people by the people" government seems intent on sticking its nose into our bidness so intrusively and taking away what freedom we have left.

ENOUGH!

Have forwarded my terse and emphatic request for consideration to all Indiana representatives.