Write your reps!! it only takes a second

[dakota.potts]

Also, I found this awesome website on another thread here on TFL

It's called Popvox.com... you sign in and you can weigh in on certain issues. It completes this with a pie chart of all users who have answered. The average gun control bill is opposed by a whopping 96% of popvox users. When you support or oppose, you can write a letter listing why and this will be sent to your representative in the House or the Senate (depending on where the bill is)

[dakota.potts]

Just wrote my representative Mr. Ron DeSantis

Message Subject: Please do not give an inch
Message Text:
Hello Mr. DeSantis, I am writing you today on the very much talked about topic of gun control. As a young person who will be able to vote for the first time next year, this is the first time I have ever attempted to directly contact a representative of mine. I know you get a lot of e-mails so I would like to cut to the chase. I do not believe that any part of any firearms ban is effective or constitutional. Simply put, to ban any kind of firearm (including those that have been banned up to this point) is infringing on rights. It can be argued that it does not mean we can not own a gun, but by simply limiting what we can own, I believe this constitutes an infringement. I believe today, if the founding fathers were around, the would be surprised at the number of people willing to to give up the rights they secured for us to help us avoid the very fights many people dedicated their lives to. It is not about what is necessary for hunting or even self-defense. We have the right to arm ourselves in the attack of a tyrannical government, civil insurrection, or invasion of a foreign entity. I would like to note that these weapons that "have no place on our streets" have been used to great effect to protect personal property from looting in cases of riots and natural disasters. I also feel it is worth nothing that of NFA registered automatic weapons, there are only 3 cases since the enactment of that law where one was used in a crime. I myself am in support of an AR-15. I believe every American who wants one should have one. I don't know why this particular weapon is so demonized, other than the fact that it is popular. Its use in mass crimes is not due to any unique abilities that aren't present in other weapons. It is simply iconic, available, and produced by more companies than almost any other rifle design. It is today's musket over the mantle. I desire to use one of these firearms for marksmanship and sporting purposes. The .223 round is a light round and not terribly effective against flesh targets -- to the point that in many states you cannot hunt with it as it is not considered powerful enough for a humane kill. I desire one of these rifles because it is modular, able to be used (in my case) for everything from long range marksmanship to 3 gun NRA shooting competitions. If I ever had to defend myself with one, I would not hesitate and I would hope my last thoughts before dying would not be "If only those 10 rounds hadn't gone so fast, this might not have happened." One last thing I would want you to think on: law enforcement officers are there to respond to criminals. The same criminals that we may be faced with in our daily lives. What does it tell us when law enforcement officers dealing with the same criminals that threaten us want to carry an AR-15 with a standard capacity magazine and a handgun holding 15 or 17? Certainly they deal with it on a daily basis and if they (rightfully) feel the need to use these for defense against the very criminals that might endanger us, perhaps we should consider that in fact it can be necessary (to say nothing of the constitutional right to do so). Thank you for your time, Mr. DeSantis, and as our representative I truly hope that you will not give one inch of our rights when it comes time to vote. Dakota Potts

I guess the e-mailer I used on his website destroyed my line breaks.

[Metal god]

I also sent it to my reps in Washington with a few changes

Hello

My names is ------ and I am writing you because I am concerned about the
new gun control legislation that was or is about to be introduced . I do not
believe new gun laws will stop criminals from doing bad things . I also don’t
believe any new gun control laws will solve the real issues . The issues I feel
should be top priority are . Mental illness , judicial discretion and family
values .

I keep hearing people saying things like these "ASSAULT" weapons must be taken off the streets . When the fact is they are almost never used in firearm related murders or shootings . In 2010 the FBI did a study that showed there were over 10,000 firearm related homicides in the U.S. that year . Of that 10k+ a rifle was used only 358 times . Of that 358 less then 100 were so-called ASSAULT rifles . Like I said less then 1% of all firearm related deaths in 2010 were caused by someone using an ASSAULT weapon .

Criminals don't care about laws , so making new ones will not stop any crimes . The young man involved in the CT school shooting did not buy the guns he used , he STOLE them and killed the legal owner just before going on his shooting spree . What law on the books now or being proposed would have stopped the shooting in CT .

YES as a nation and human beings we can't sit back and do nothing when 20
children get killed but banning weapons that are almost never used in crimes
while ignoring the real issues plaguing are society is a real problem for me . I
will not support and candidate that does not look at the real issues first
before infringing on my 2nd amendment rights .

I'm writing every member of the state senate and every state assembly member and asking you please do not support any new gun legislation at this time . I vote and I will volunteer to help others vote as well . I've always voted the candidate and not the party . I will not vote for any candidate that supports new gun legislation and I will encourage others to do the same . I will also be consulting the NRA grading system to help me out in the polling booth

Thank you for your time

[fire4606]

Form letters just got me form letter responses making it obvious my letter was not read.

So i sent another and much more simple letter.

"If you vote for gun control, I will vote you out."

Period.

I think they might actually read that one and it is nothing but truth.

[Tom Servo]

Form letters just got me form letter responses making it obvious my letter was not read.

Just because they don't get a response doesn't mean they don't have an effect.

When a controversial piece of legislation is up for consideration, politicians look for numbers. It works like this: HR 64265 is up for a vote. Senator Gribley wants to know what his constituents think, so he instructs his staff to count the number of letters he gets in support of it vs. how many he gets opposing it.

He may not respond, but he'll notice when he's got a smattering of letters in support and hundreds (or thousands) in opposition. He's going to take this into account when passing his vote.

Unless you live in a small town of 600 people, chances are Gribley (and his staff) simply doesn't have the time to respond. That doesn't mean we're not getting through.

[OEF-Vet]

I too have a tendency to try to use logic and facts to back up my position when writing to my representatives. I have come to the realization that a simple “I am against” or “I support” any particular legislation should suffice.
Most of these folks don’t actually read our letters nor should we be concerned with changing their personal opinion. They work for us and quite frankly they have no right to consider their personal take on any particular bill as anything more than 1 yea or nay just like the rest of us. Their job is to listen to their constituents and vote according to the yea or nay tally of those constituents whether that representative agrees with the constituents or not.

We should be writing our reps letters to remind them of that fact!

I have but of course there is no form letter for that and I have yet to get a response.

[alan]

Tom Servo:

What you noted in your post is exactly on point, which is why I have been nagging people for years regarding the need, the importance of making yourself heard, as with that squeaking hinge is the one that gets oiled.

The opinion that wasn't voiced is the one that isn't considered. There is absolutely no excuse these days for not being heard, receiving a response is another story, your comments on that aspect are most likely on point. Elected things often have local offices as well as offices in the state or national capitol. As I've mentioned before, 1-866-220-0044 rings at Capitol Switchboard. The ladies who answer, most often it's a lady who answers, will connect callers with any congressional of senate office requested. Once there, you might speak with a staffer, or you might speak with an answering machine. Tallies are made however, and as the old saying goes, the really dumb question often turns out to be the one not asked.

People, make yourselves heard. The rights your voice defends are yours, and if you will not act in their defense, can you reasonably expect anyone else to so do?

[Vermonter]

Just did it again. The format changed on the NRA sight a bit but here is the link..........

http://www.nraila.org/get-involved-l...your-reps.aspx

With Kind Regards, Vermonter

[Metal god]

Thanks for the link Vermonter . I deleted there message and put my own in .

[Vermonter]

I know broken reccord but if every member here would take 30 seconds and do this it would make a dent and an impact.

Regards, Vermonter

[alan]

Understand from what I heard on news broadcasts that today, a senate committee approved, on a party line vote, S. 150. Earlier, same committed had approved ""expanded background checks"".

I would not presume to speak for others, especially those I do not personally know, but for me, committee action is less than acceptable. I therefore respectfully suggest to readers/listeners here the following. Senate offices should disappear beneath the weight of phone calls, faxes, emails and "smoke signals" expressing unending opposition to this committee action, to demands that when and if the things come to an actual floor vote, that senators vote in opposition. No other action is acceptable. No negotiations, no deals, nothing other than negative votes will suffice.

[Vermonter]

Understand from what I heard on news broadcasts that today, a senate committee approved, on a party line vote, S. 150. Earlier, same committed had approved ""expanded background checks"".

I would not presume to speak for others, especially those I do not personally know, but for me, committee action is less than acceptable. I therefore respectfully suggest to readers/listeners here the following. Senate offices should disappear beneath the weight of phone calls, faxes, emails and "smoke signals" expressing unending opposition to this committee action, to demands that when and if the things come to an actual floor vote, that senators vote in opposition. No other action is acceptable. No negotiations, no deals, nothing other than negative votes will suffice.

10-4 I am about to do a letter to that effect.

Actually here is exactly what I just wrote

If our voice hasn't been heard by now it isn't because we aren't speaking loudly or clearly enough it is because you are not listning.

We the people do not want further Gun laws or resctictions we want further restrictions and punishments on MURDER.

Stop making these people famous and start punishing them with the death penalty quickly.

Taking away our ability to defend ourselves does nothing to limit the criminal use of firearms. The very definition of a criminal is someone who acts without regard for the Law. So please explain to me how more laws will have an impact on criminal behavior.

[dakota.potts]

What does TTT mean? Take the time? Talk to Them?

[Metal god]

I'm not sure if it works the same way in all states but if the senator is not my senator . I'm unable to email them . This really bugs me . There vote will impact everyone in CA but if I'm not there constituent there web page will not except my email and tells me to contact my rep . This would be no big deal if there vote only impacted there district but it doesn't . Does anybody have a quick way around this glitch ? I would like to email everybody that has a vote .

[alan]

My understanding of S 150, possibly incorrect is that at present, it contains the following interesting exemption to the ban on "assault weapons", so-called in Senator Feinstein's proposal. Retired Police Officers would be exempted from the ban on firearms, I assume regarding the proposed limits on magazine capacity too.

Re this bit, I wonder as to what possible justification it might have, other than to perhaps obtain ''political cover" from one or another of the several police organizations one now and then hears of or from on the subject of gun control, lately gun safety, how come the change in terminology being another point of curiosity.

Additionally, in what one might refer to as a "discussion" between Senators Cruz of Texas, and Feinstein of California, the gentle lady seems to have bristled when Senator Cruz questioned her regarding the possibility of other restrictions on constitutional rights. He mentioned the possibility of Freedom Of Speech being limited with respect to opinions and or individuals who for some reason or other had fallen under executive or congressional "dislike". He also questioned the possibility of Fourth Amendment guarantees being limited in cases where the persons or papers of "unpopular" persons might be laid open to search and seizure, absent proper warrants.

From what I read of this discussion/argument in my local paper, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, I believe that I have the sense, if not the exact wording of Senator Cruz's questions, which as above mentioned, caused Senator Feinstein to bristle. I believe she later apologized to Cruz. It strikes me however that "the lady doth to much protest her innocence", given the history of her firearms related proposals and comments, proposals and comments that go back quite a while.

Strikes me that the above points are worth raising in such communications readers might have with their own elected officials.

[alan]

Metal god wrote:
Senior Member

Join Date: April 10, 2012
Location: San Diego CA
Posts: 852 I'm not sure if it works the same way in all states but if the senator is not my senator . I'm unable to email them . This really bugs me . There vote will impact everyone in CA but if I'm not there constituent there web page will not except my email and tells me to contact my rep . This would be no big deal if there vote only impacted there district but it doesn't . Does anybody have a quick way around this glitch ? I would like to email everybody that has a vote .
__________________
When I got out of bed this morning I pulled my groin

I Liked it so much I pulled it again !!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

With members of the House of Representatives and or U.S. Senate, that has not been my experience.

If however, there web site should reject your comment, try the following toll free number. 1-866-220-0044. It rings at Capitol Switchboard, and callers are connected with whichever congressional or senate office they ask for.

Sometimes you will get a human being, staffers are perhaps such things, sometimes you can only leave a brief message, try writing out what you have to say beforehand. The small effort could well prove worthwhile, who knows.

[Vermonter]

What does TTT mean? Take the time? Talk to Them?

Forum speak for To The Top in other words I want this seen as much as possible. It is often used in classified sections so folks listings show up at the top of the page. Normally doing this to a thread is annoying otherwise but I am making an exception here because this is just that important.

Regards, Vermonter

[alan]

Vermonter:

Re your closing, "So please explain to me how more laws will have an impact on criminal behavior.", strikes me as a most valid, pointed question. Good luck obtaining any sort of sentient answer, which precludes the usual ""boiler plate, canned responses"" that issue forth from congressional/senatorial offices.

In closing, may I offer the following suggestion: Re waiting for "replies", Don't hold your breath, unless blue is one of your better colors.

[Metal god]

Alen thanks for the # . I how ever was talking about my state senators . If there not your rep they bounce your email .

[alan]

Metal God:

Seems I misunderstood. Sorry.

Alan

[Vermonter]

Re your closing, "So please explain to me how more laws will have an impact on criminal behavior.", strikes me as a most valid, pointed question. Good luck obtaining any sort of sentient answer, which precludes the usual ""boiler plate, canned responses"" that issue forth from congressional/senatorial offices.

In closing, may I offer the following suggestion: Re waiting for "replies", Don't hold your breath, unless blue is one of your better colors.

Alan thanks for the compliment. Not a siingle person has answered that question. I have gotten replies. Some even not form letters but they are all very canned pre rehersed political jumbo.

Here is a link for the Govoner of Colorado who is said to be tallying votes on a mag limit there. Why don't we all write him and tell him what we think?

http://www.colorado.gov/govhdir/requ...inion-leg.html

[alan]

Vermonter:

I doubt that out-of-state calls, emails, smoke signals would much influence Colorado's governor. His vote counting in Colorado could well be another thing. I therefore hope that gunnies in Colorado take the small amount of time and effort to express their thoughts to the governor. Of course, one thing that might well stand in the way of such necessary activity, is human nature, otherwise known as APATHY.

[Vermonter]

I doubt that out-of-state calls, emails, smoke signals would much influence Colorado's governor. His vote counting in Colorado could well be another thing. I therefore hope that gunnies in Colorado take the small amount of time and effort to express their thoughts to the governor. Of course, one thing that might well stand in the way of such necessary activity, is human nature, otherwise known as APATHY.

My letter to him explained how much I travel there and how many dollars I have put into his states economy. Not a huge total but enough to notice anyway. I explained that I would have to reconsider such travel if I felt my safety was in jepordy with a mag limit etc etc. Mine carried extra weight I suppose because I was very very close to Aurora Sp? during the shooting there. I was in CO on business and was on my way out of dodge. I wander what would have happened if I decided to stop and catch a movie.

Hopefully he saw it hopefully he considered it.

Regards, Vermonter

[alan]

Vermonter:

If the radio news bradcast I heard got it right, the Governor of Colorado sighed this bill.

Interestingly, I also understand that a number of Colorado sheriffs have stated that they will not enforce the law.

In whose court might the ball be now?

[Metal god]

I got a letter from the white house

Dear Friend:




Thank you for taking the time to write. I have heard from many Americans regarding firearms policy and gun violence in our Nation, and I appreciate your perspective. From Aurora to Newtown to the streets of Chicago, we have seen the devastating effects gun violence has on our American family. I join countless others in grieving for all those whose lives have been taken too soon by gun violence.



Like the majority of Americans, I believe the Second Amendment guarantees an individual right to bear arms. In this country, we have a strong tradition of gun ownership that has been handed down from generation to generation. Hunting and sport shooting are part of our national heritage. Yet, even as we acknowledge that almost all gun owners in America are responsible, when we look at the devastation caused by gun violence—whether in high-profile tragedies or the daily heartbreak that plagues our cities—we must ask ourselves whether we are doing enough.



While reducing gun violence is a complicated challenge, protecting our children from harm should not be a divisive one. Most gun owners agree that we can respect the Second Amendment while keeping an irresponsible, law-breaking few from inflicting harm on a massive scale. Most also agree that if we took commonsense steps to curtail gun violence, there would be fewer atrocities like the one that occurred in Newtown. We will not be able to stop every violent act, but if there is even one thing we can do to reduce gun violence—if even one life can be saved—then we have an obligation to try.



That is why I asked Vice President Joe Biden to identify concrete steps we can take to keep our children safe, help prevent mass shootings, and reduce the broader epidemic of gun violence in this country. He met with over 200 groups representing a broad cross-section of Americans and heard their best ideas. I have put forward a specific set of proposals based off of his efforts, and in the days ahead, I intend to use whatever weight this office holds to make them a reality.



My plan gives law enforcement, schools, mental health professionals, and the public health community some of the tools they need to help reduce gun violence. These tools include strengthening the background check system, helping schools hire more resource officers and counselors and develop emergency preparedness plans, and ensuring mental health professionals know their options for reporting threats of violence. And I directed the Centers for Disease Control to study the best ways to reduce gun violence—because it is critical that we understand the science behind this public health crisis.



As important as these steps are, they are not a substitute for action from Congress. To make a real and lasting difference, members of Congress must also act. As part of my comprehensive plan, I have called on them to pass some specific proposals right away. First, it is time to require a universal background check for anyone trying to buy a gun. Second, Congress should renew the 10-round limit on magazines and reinstate and strengthen the assault weapons ban. We should get tougher on those who buy guns with the purpose of selling them to criminals, and we should impose serious punishments on anyone who helps them do this.



These are reasonable, commonsense measures that have the support of the majority of the American people. But change will not come unless the American people demand it from their lawmakers. Now is the time to do the right thing for our children, our communities, and the country we love. We owe the victims of heartbreaking national tragedies and the countless unheralded tragedies each year nothing less than our best effort—to seek consensus in order to save lives and ensure a brighter future for our children.



Thank you, again, for writing. I encourage you to visit www.WhiteHouse.gov/NowIsTheTime to learn more about my Administration’s approach.




Sincerely,



Barack Obama

second verse , same as the first