function stateFullToAbbrev(fullState)
{

//********************************************************************************************
//*** Added by B.S. on 9/3/2003:  Don't Replace if original value is the abbreviated state ***
if(fullState.length == 2) return fullState;	
//********************************************************************************************

var state = new Object()

fullState = fullState.replace(" ", "_")

state.Alabama = "AL"
state.Alaska = "AK"
state.Arkansas = "AR"
state.Arizona = "AZ"
state.California = "CA"
state.Colorado = "CO"
state.Connecticut = "CT"
state.Canal_Zone = "CZ"
state.District_Of_Columbia = "DC"
state.Delaware = "DE"
state.Florida = "FL"
state.Georgia = "GA"
state.Guam = "GU"
state.Hawaii = "HI"
state.Iowa = "IA"
state.Idaho = "ID"
state.Illinois = "IL"
state.Indiana = "IN"
state.Kansas = "KS"
state.Kentucky = "KY"
state.Louisiana = "LA"
state.Massachusetts = "MA"
state.Maryland = "MD"
state.Maine = "ME"
state.Michigan = "MI"
state.Minnesota = "MN"
state.Missouri = "MO"
state.Mississippi = "MS"
state.Montana = "MT"
state.North_Carolina = "NC"
state.North_Dakota = "ND"
state.Nebraska = "NE"
state.New_Hampshire = "NH"
state.New_Jersey = "NJ"
state.New_Mexico = "NM"
state.Nevada = "NV"
state.New_York = "NY"
state.Ohio = "OH"
state.Oklahoma = "OK"
state.Oregon = "OR"
state.Pennsylvania = "PA"
state.Puerto_Rico = "PR"
state.Rhode_Island = "RI"
state.South_Carolina = "SC"
state.South_Dakota = "SD"
state.Tennessee = "TN"
state.Texas = "TX"
state.Utah = "UT"
state.Virginia = "VA"
state.Virgin_Island = "VI"
state.Vermont = "VT"
state.Washington = "WA"
state.Wisconsin = "WI"
state.West_Virginia = "WV"
state.Wyoming = "WY"
state.Alberta = "AB"
state.British_Columbia = "BC"
state.Manitoba = "MB"
state.New_Brunswick = "NB"
state.Newfoundland = "NF"
state.Northwest_Territories = "NW"
state.Nova_Scotia = "NS"
state.Ontario = "ON"
state.Prince_Edward_Island = "PE"
state.Quebec = "PQ"
state.Saskatchewan = "SK"
state.Yukon = "YT"

return state[fullState];
}