January 16, 2004

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) The Seneca Indian Nation is suing New York over the state's ban on Internet tobacco sales, claiming the law is unconstitutional and interferes with the nation's sovereignty.
The suit, filed in U.S. District Court, is the third legal challenge to the 2000 law enacted in June. The other lawsuits are pending.
``If enforced, the (law) would severely restrict the manner in which Native American retailers in New York have been able to transact business for years, and would represent unlawful interference with the sovereignty of the Nation,'' the Senecas' attorneys said in court papers reviewed by The Buffalo News.
Attorney Paul Cambria said tobacco sellers are licensed by the nation, and the money paid for those licenses fund services for Senecas, a tribe of roughly 7,000 with two western New York reservations.
Reservation businesses sell large quantities of reduced-priced cigarettes because, unlike off-reservation stores, they do not charge state sales tax. The state has plans, however, to begin taxing gasoline and cigarette sales to non-Indian customers on March 1.
The ban on Internet and mail-order sales of cigarettes was passed as public health law, with lawyers saying the goal was to limit children's access to cigarettes.
Critics contend the true purpose is to increase the state's tax revenues by forcing people to buy cigarettes at brick-and-mortar stores within New York state.
Others challenging the ban include the Online Tobacco Retailers Association, or OLTRA, which filed suit along with a Seneca Indian retailer, two out-of-state online sellers and two disabled consumers last year.
A second suit, by two Seneca Indian business people, also is pending.