Monday, December 24, 2012

Keeping those cards and letters coming...

SayUncle noted a couple days ago that "[i]f everyone who bought an AR-15 magazine since 2004 wrote their congresscritter and told them to not support any restrictions on gun rights, no bill would see the light of day."

Perhaps coincidentally, this thread popped up the next day at P-F.com:
 I spent six years working on Capitol Hill. One as a staff aide for a particular Senate committee, two as a legislative correspondent for a Senator, and three as a legislative aide for the same Senator.

For those of you who don't know, a legislative corespondent (LC) is basically a fancy title for a young twenty-something just out of college who receives the letters and emails that you write, and is usually the person who writes you back. Generally, Congressmen have one or two LC's who do all of their letters for every issue, while Senators have a whole team of LC's that handle letters for certain issues that they're assigned (IE: a military LC, a healthcare LC, an education LC, etc.). Here's a few things that I picked up as an LC that might help you should you choose to write your Congressional delegation:
If you're going to write, you should go read the thread.

11 comments:

The Packetman said...

I'd also point out that if there is an office for said representative nearby, an actual visit to the office is the best thing you can do (after you've written and called).

But be respectful, be nice and non-threatening. Part of the value of a visit is that the staff will infer that you're a gun owner and that you know where 'they' are. Don't make it worse.

perlhaqr said...

I'm not an AR guy, but the effect can only be enhanced if us AK and FAL types join in too. :)

Tam said...

perlhaqr,

The sentence quoted at Unc's was a follow-on to his previous sentence regarding PMag sales.

Sincerely,
Tam
(Who totally doesn't understand people identifying themselves as "types" based on boring self-loading rifles, being more of a Remington Rolling-Block Type herself, but who owns and is proficient with an AR because it's the standard service longarm of the country in which she happens to be a citizen. ;) )

Robert said...

From the thread: "(Boxer and Feinstein were notorious for not giving two shits about their mail or phone calls)"

Why am I not surprised?

Ancient Woodsman said...

Very goo dinformaiton to have. Thank you for posting that.

I'd heard from some local staffers of Senate & House here that it helps to have a hand-written letter if you do send something snail mail - shows that you've not only put some time in to the matter but it has a more homey appearance to it. Not sure if that still applies today.

Tom said...

I think the real message here is that quantity has a quality all its own. While you need to write something in your own words, don't spend too much time sweating all the points of your argument or make it a laundry list. It's more important that you get SOME message to your elected representatives NOW. They'll get the message that restricting our gun rights is a losing issue for them. If we all do this, we can help nip this AWB nonsense in the bud.

The Raving Prophet said...

I've been saying this for a week... way, WAY too many gun owners are too busy wringing their hands about what they're about to lose.

If they'd take ten minutes out of wringing those hands and use them to write three letters/email/make phone calls, they'd make all that worry for naught.

It's time to not just assume that somebody else will do the heavy lifting. We all need to pitch in and make our voices heard. I've just got no respect at all for the people who are eager to whine but have yet to write.

Kristophr said...

I'm a Mosin Nagant type ... but a lot of the folks I hang with think rifling is a passing fad.

rickn8or said...

Kristopher, I feel the same way about this flash-in-the-pan breechloading and smokeless powder stuff.

(I'm sorry for that people, but I just couldn't resist.)

Crucis said...

Those LCs can get their boss into a heap of trouble. I know my local Representative. We've met a number of times, enough for her to recognize me and remember my name. Our last meeting was in early December. I told her I had something to discuss with her (removing Boehner as Speaker.) She didn't time and asked me to send her an e-mail. I did.

I got a response. A totally unrelated response to the subject of my e-mail. I was pissed to say the least. Now, it possibly could have been a mistake. I sent a followup---got the same response.

I am well known in local party circles. I'm not a part of the establishment as is my Representative. I made my displeasure known on my blog and on FB. I do have a bit of clout in our state politics. My Representative will have opposition come the next primary. She's pissed off too many with her inattention to those who helped elect her.

perlhaqr said...

Oh, I meant it as an inclusive thing, not an exclusive thing. I'm only "not an AR type" in that I don't own one. (But, by inference, do own AK and FAL pattern rifles.)

It was "I want to help!" not "I'm offended!" Sweet and fluffy Lord. After the week I've had arguing with gun control types, I'm not going to do anything to be divisive among people I have that much in common with.