Effectively Communicating With Your Lawmakers.docx

Effectively Communicating With Your Lawmakers.docx

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EffectivelyCommunicatingWithYourLawmakers

EffectivelyCommunicatingWithYourLawmakers

Asavotingconstituent,youhaveatremendousabilitytoinfluencetheoutcomeoflegislation.Askanyelectedofficialwhichindividual`sconcernsaremostimportanttohim,andchancesaretheyallwilldeliverthesameresponse:

hisconstituents`.Allpoliticiansarekeenlyawareofthefactthatitistheirconstituentswhoholdthekeystotheirpoliticalfutures.Therefore,constituentconcernsareoftheutmostconcerntopoliticians.Thebestwayyoucanaffecttheoutcomeoflegislationistodirectlycommunicateyourviewstoyourlawmakers.REMEMBER:

Yourlawmakersworkforyou!

Sincetheprimaryconcernofallpoliticiansistogetre-elected,besureyoucommunicateyourconcernswithyourownelectedofficialsfirst!

Then,ifyouwishtoexpressyourviewstootherswhodon`tdirectlyrepresentyou,youcandoso.Butmakesureyourlegislatorshearfromyoufirst!

Firstsomegeneralinformation.–thiswebsitehasawealthofinformationtoassistyouwhenyoucontactyourlawmakers.Also,keepinmindmanytimesyouwillnotbespeakingdirectlytoyourelectedofficial,butrathertoamemberofhisstaff.Contactwithlegislativestaffiscriticaltotheprocess,asstaffhasmajorinputwithlawmakersandhasexpertiseinmostissuesonwhichlegislatorswillvote--includinggun-relatedissues.Listedbelow,you`llfindsomeadditionaltipsoneffectivelycommunicatingwithyourelectedofficials

WRITINGEFFECTIVELETTERS

Oneofthemostoften-utilizedmethodsofcommunicatingwithyourlawmakersisbywritingaletter.Asavotingconstituent,aletterisaneasywayforyoutoletlawmakersknowyourviewsonspecificissues,encouragethemtovoteyourway,andletthemknowyou`llwatchhowtheyvoteonparticularissuesandkeepthosevotesinmindonElectionDay!

Personally-writtenlettersallowyouanopportunitytopresentyourpositiontoyourlawmakerswithoutinterruption.Withthatinmind,you`llwanttokeepthelettershortandtothepoint,withjustenoughfactsandfigurestofurtherenhanceyourstatement.Neverlieormakeastatementyoucan`tbackupwithevidence.Alwaysletyourlawmakersknowhowaspecificissuewillaffectyoupersonally,andmakesureheunderstandsthatyouliveandvoteinhisdistrictorstate,andtherefore,whataffectsyoumayaffectyourfellowconstituentsaswell.Ifyouownoroperateabusiness,useyourcompanyletterhead.Ifyou`reamemberofthePTAorothercivicgroup,don`thesitatetomentionthat.Takingthesestepswillenhanceyourmessageandensureyourconcernsaretakenseriously.Herearethreequicktipsyou`llwanttorefertowhendraftingyourletter,andclickheretoreviewasampleletter.

1.HowToAddressYourRepresentative.Addressyourlettersto"TheHonorable_______,"andbegintheletter"DearSenator"or"DearRepresentative."IfwritingtoaCommitteeChairmanorSpeakeroftheHouse,addresshimas"Mr.Chairman"or"Mr.Speaker."

2.BeBrief,Specific,&AlwaysBeCourteous!

Lettersshouldn`texceedonepage,andthepurposeofyourlettershouldbestatedclearlyinthefirstparagraph.Ifyourletterpertainstospecificlegislation,identifyitaccordingly（usethebillnumber,ifknown,andthetitleofthebilland/orabriefdescription）.Tomakesureyourletterisasproductiveaspossible,alwaysbecourteous,evenifyoudisagreewithyourrepresentative`sposition!

Neverthreatenoruseabusivelanguage.Thisonlyhurtsyourcause.

3.AskThemToWriteBack.Alwaysaskforaresponsetoyourletter.You`llwantahardcopyofyourlegislator`spositionsontheseissuesforfuturereferenceandtodocumenttheirpositions.AlwayssendcopiesofanyresponsesyoureceivetoyourGrassrootsgroup.

E-MAIL

E-mailisbecomingamorepopularwaytocommunicateyourviewstoyourlawmaker.Whilenoteverylawmakercanreceivee-mailmessages,mostareable,andmoreandmoreelectedofficialsareutilizingit.Tipsfortransmittinganeffectivee-mailmessagearesimilartowritingaletter,thoughthisformatisusuallylessformalandallowsyoutobeabitmorebriefinyourmessage.Amajoradvantageofe-mailversusapersonally-writtenletteristhespeedinwhichyourmessagewillbereceived.Bepreparedforsomelawmakersto"respond"toyoure-mailmessagewithacannedreflectormessagethatmaynotspecificallyaddressyourconcern.Whetheryoureceiveaspecificresponsetoyourmessageornot,besurethatyourequestyourlawmaker`spositioninwritingsoyoucandocumenthispositioneasily.SendthisresponsetoyourGrassrootsgroup.

FAXING

FaxinghasbecomeincreasinglypopularasmoreandmoreAmericanshavegainedaccesstofaxmachines.Infact,nearlyallU.S.SenatorsandRepresentativeshavepublishedfaxnumbers.What`smore,faxingallowsyoutosendafull,letter-lengthmessagetoyourrepresentativesinamatterofminutesforjustthecostofaphonecall.Whenpreparingafaxmessagetoalawmaker,followthesamebasicguidelinesusedwhenmailingaletterviaregularmail.Youalsowanttomakesureyourfaxnumberisclearlyvisible,incaseyourlegislatorwishestorespondtoyouviafax.

EFFECTIVETELEPHONECALLS

Youwilloftenfindthat,asbillsmovethroughthelegislativeprocess,theresimplyisn`tenoughtimetowriteyourlegislatorspriortoakeyvote.Whenyouneedtogetintouchwithyourlawmakersimmediatelytoletthemknowofyourpositiononissues,andifyoudon`thavee-mailcapabilities,yourtelephonecallsbecomethemosteffectivemeansforyoutocommunicateyourviews.Belowareseveraltipsforyoutorefertowhenplacingyourcalls.

1.IdentifyYourselfAsAConstituent.Assomeonewholivesandvotesinthedistrictorstateofthelawmakeryouarecontacting,yourphonecallscarrythemostweight.Callstorepresentativesoutsideyourdistrictorstatecanbehelpfulaswell.However,besuretoalwayscontactyourownlegislatorsfirst.

2.StateYourPointQuicklyAndClearly.Besuretolimityourtelephonecalltoonesubject.Bebriefbutspecific.Yourphonecallshouldlastatmostonlyacoupleofminutes.Statethereasonyouarecalling,givingabriefdescriptionofthebillandbillnumberifpossible.REMEMBER:

ALWAYSBECOURTEOUS!

NEVERthreaten,oruseabusivelanguage.

3.RequestThatYourLegislatorFollowUpYourCallWithaLetter.Besuretogiveyournameandhomeaddressandrequestthatyourlegislatorfollowupwithaletter.Youtookthetimetocall,sohaveyourlegislatortakethetimetorespond.Gethispositioninwritingonissuesimportanttoyou.

4.YouDoNotAlwaysHaveToIdentifyYourselfSolelyAsAMember!

Unfortunately,manypoliticiansareunderthemisguidedimpressionthatmembersonlysaywhattheirgrouptellsthemtosay.Ifyouidentifyyourselfasavotingconstituent;communityorbusinessleader;PTA,VFW,orAmericanLegionmember;orhomemaker,lawmakerswillfindithardertodismissyourcall.

PERSONALMEETINGS

Byfar,themosteffectivewaytoarticulateyourviewstoyourelectedofficialandtoaffecttheoutcomeoflegislationistositdownandspeakwithyourlawmakersface-to-face.Whilethesepersonalvisitsareextremelyproductive,theyalsorequirethemostamountofplanningtoensuresuccess.Whenplanningapersonalvisit,refertothefollowingguidelines:

1.ScheduleAnAppointment.Electedofficialshaveextremelyhecticschedules.Tohelpincreasethechancethatyouwillhavetimeallottedforyoutospeakdirectlywithyourlegislator,callinadvancetosetupanappointment.Inalllikelihood,mostofyourpersonalmeetingswillbescheduledatyourlawmakers`districtoffices,sobesureyoucontacttheseofficestomakeyourappointment.

2.ExplainHowProposedLegislationWillDirectlyAffectYou.Usespecificexamplestoshowyourlawmakerhowbillswilljeopardizeyourrightsorthelivesoflaw-abidingcitizens,andundulyburdenthoseengagedinlawfulactivities.Iftheproposedmeasurewillstrengthenourrightsorbenefits,specificallyciteexamplestosupportthisposition.

3.AlwaysBePolite!

Nothingisasdetrimentaltoavisitwithalawmakerthanrudeness,vulgarity,orthreats.Evenifyoudisagreewiththepositionofyourlegislator,becourteous.Dressprofessionallytoconveytheseriousnessofyourvisit.

4.FollowUpYourVisitWithALetter.Regardlessofhowyourmeetinggoes,sendalettertoyourlegislatorthankinghimforhistime,andreiteratingthepointsyoudiscussed.Thisgesturewillgoalongway,andpossiblyallowforfuturemeetings.

5.IfYourLawmakerIsUnavailable,MeetWithHisStaff.Yourrepresentativemaynotalwaysbeavailableforameeting.Insuchcases,trytoscheduleanappointmentwiththestaffmemberresponsibleforrelatedissues.Legislativestaffwillbringyourconcernstoyourlegislator`sattention,havegreatinfluenceonlegislators`votingdecisions,andoftenhaveexpertiseonrelatedissues.Sendafollow-uplettertothestaffmemberyoumetwithaswell.Keepinmindmanycongressionalstaffmemberslaterrunforofficethemselves,sotheserelationshipscanbeinvaluableinthefuture!

6.BringAmpleMaterialsToShareWithYourLawmakerAndHisStaff.Thesematerialswillbolsteryoupointandserveasvaluablereferencematerialsafteryourmeetinghasconcluded.

ATTENDTOWNHALLMEETINGS

Lawmakersoftenhosttownhallmeetingsintheirdistricts--especiallyduringcongressionaldistrictworkbreaks--totouttheirachievementsandsolicitfeedbackfromtheirconstituents.Suchmeetingsareaprimeopportunityforyoutoaskyourlawmakerstostatetheirpositiononissuesfortherecord,inanopenandpublicforum.Thefollowing