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