I personally feel that a forum pertaining to animal/herp-oriented legislation should not be put into a "QT-room/members only" access type situation.
Yes, opinions do tend to get heated in politically-oriented situations, however, when it comes to legislation that could potentially threaten this hobby/industry, we all need to be able to step away from personal differences and focus on the fight at hand. Quite frankly, if a reptile keeper cannot lay down their personal political opinions for the sake of preserving this hobby, it may be time for that person to take a deeper look at why they're on a site like this to begin with.
Just my $156.02 (includes bailout BS taxes, or so they tell me)...
K~