Sen. Feinstein Introduces Anti-Ticket Scalping Legislation
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) introduced legislation today that would prohibit the counterfeiting and sale of inaugural tickets that are supposed to be free.
There are 240,000 prized tickets to the swearing-in of President-elect Barack Obama, and the craze over them has scalpers hawking them on-line for as much as $40,000 apiece, according to Feinstein--even though no tickets have been released yet.
The senator announced last week that she was drafting the legislation and contacting online auction sites to ask them to stop the practice. eBay has already voluntarily banned the sale of swearing-in tickets.
There is an exception: Tickets can be sold as memorabilia after the ceremony.
In a statement, Feinstein said: “The Inauguration of the President is one of the most important rituals of our democracy. The chance to witness this event should not be bought and sold like tickets to a football game. This legislation is meant to immediately stop the unscrupulous behavior of those who obtain these tickets for free and then seek to profit by selling them, often at dramatically inflated prices. This bill also would target those duping the public with fraudulent tickets or promises of tickets they don’t actually have.
“It is my hope that Congress will pass this legislation during this week’s lame-duck session so that we can stop scam artists and profiteers from maligning this historic event."
By Nikita Stewart
By
David A Nakamura
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November 17, 2008; 2:46 PM ET
| Category:
Tickets
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Posted by: familynet | November 18, 2008 5:35 AM | Report abuse
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The obama campaign was fully centered on one issue, MONEYMONEYMONEY. Yet, his party supporters like Feinstein are oh so concerned that people might make money off of his inaguration. Real gutsy legislation senator!