Do you write pro-gun letters to politicians who do not represent you?

I go to UT and have quite a few friends from all around the state along with some from other states, who more or less support guns rights and I take advantage of that . I am by far the most dedicated supporter of the 2A out of all my friends, but they all have an interest in firearms. I usually will write one letter and print out a few copies with a different politicians names on each one and then give it to a friend who is a voter in that district. I will have them red it and sign it and then I will mail it off for them to their representative. This way my one letter and concern gets the attention of multiple politicians who do not directly represent me. My friends are to lazy to stand up and support their right to bear arms so someone has to pick up the slack

Of course, there's the condition where anti-gun politicians are elected from the district in which I live, but they don't represent me.

It's pretty frustrating to write Feinstein and Boxer and George Miller, since there's no possibility of changing any of their (whatever they use for) minds, but I do write. Staffers need to put check-marks in the 'opposed' column once in a while.

I write to whole committees of the California state legislature. Obviously, they cannot all represent my district. I've written to the whole Assembly (80 members) and the whole Senate (40 members), at least once with real paper, envelopes and stamps, but usually by email.

Normally you're wasting your time writing politicians who are not your representatives. They are only concerned with their own constituents.

Normally you're wasting your time writing politicians who are not your representatives. They are only concerned with their own constituents.

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In general I agree, though I have written a few outside my own area before just to support some fact or point of information for an actual constituent.

Normally you're wasting your time writing politicians who are not your representatives. They are only concerned with their own constituents.

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A politician who does not depend on your vote will not care what you think. You are waisting your pen and ink. If someone could prove otherwise, I might be willing to start. OTOH, your local politicians give *great* weight to your opinion. When you write, you represent xx other people who don't write. When you vote, you represent the small minority that actually affect who gets into office. I make it a point to ALWAYS state " I am a registered voter in your district/state, and I vote"

Communicating with Elected Officials

I am represented in the state legislature by anti-gun people; nonetheless, they are the ones I write about gun issues. I keep thinking (wishfully) that their awareness that there are RKBA proponents in their constituency will discourage knee-jerk voting on gun issues.

The sad fact is, though, that money talks most loudly. The most effective thing you can do is buy politicians by contributing to pro-RKBA lobby groups and PACs.

Sometimes, when it's in the context of a committee hearing or action. I might hit the whole committee, or a good chunk of it--I did that back during the OSHA ammo debacle. Also, I've done it a couple of times to say "thank you" to someone for supporting the Second Amendment. He or she may not represent me by geography, but certainly does represent my views and the sacred cause of ordered liberty.

OTOH, your local politicians give *great* weight to your opinion. When you write, you represent xx other people who don't write.

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You mean there's hope I might be able to change Dennis Kucinich's mind? So far, he doesn't even bother responding to my pro-gun letters.

There are periodic threads here where members want other members to write to politicians or school officials. Unless you are a resident of their area, it's a waste of your time. They don't care what you think and have no reason to start caring.
Concentrate your efforts where they will do some good.

Residents of North Carolina can access the General Assembly and obtain the e-mail address for every member. Unless you put your full address in your note they do not know whether you live in their District or not.

Frequently I write my letter to the local daily newspaper and copy a politician. I won't say that it makes a difference but at least I feel like I did something other than complain.

John
Charlotte, NC

If a politician does something I support occasionally I will write a that a boy letter. Never hurts reinforcing positive attitudes. Normally I just stick to my team though.

WRITE to Them - It CAN Make a Difference

Normally you're wasting your time writing politicians who are not your representatives. They are only concerned with their own constituents

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I don't agree with this at all. On any committee in a state legislature, you have three groups of delegates on any particular issue - in this case, let's say a bill that would increase gun control:

- those in favor of the bill (anti-2A)
- those opposed to the bill (pro-2A)
- THOSE WHO ARE UNDECIDED

YOU NEED TO MAKE AN IMPACT ON THE THIRD GROUP. Unless citizens in their district have flooded them with mail, they're trying to decide based on THE BEST INFO PRESENTED TO THEM - you need to be the provider of that information. If they get a series of letters, courteous in tone and informative in content, that show why the proposed legislation is not worthwhile, they may well vote to oppose the legislation.

Want anecdotal evidence? OK, you got it. Here in Maryland, we had a hearing this Tuesday on the ammo encoding bill that has been proposed in several states. One person (the ammo encoding patent holder) showed up in support of the bill, while 35 people showed up to oppose. But, that's not why I'm telling you this...

While a different bill was being discussed, I was outside talking to several other MD gun owners. We were approached by a female delegate, who recognized one of our party, as he had written to her on our proposed concealed carry legislation earlier in February. HE IS NOT FROM HER DISTRICT - NONE OF US WERE. But, she chatted for a couple of minutes, listended to a quick summary of why we felt the ammo encoding legislation wouldn't work, and also mentioned "you guys do a good job of showing up at the hearings, and YOU KNOW HOW TO DO A MAIL CAMPAIGN." She took our technical objections to the legislation into consideration, and I'd bet you that she wouldn't vote for it if it gets to a vote.

In addition, she has already responded in writing to the concealed carry bill, even though the letter writer was not from her district. She said that she appreciated the information, but wasn't sure she could support this legislation at the time, until "more of a buzz" was created around the topic, such as occurred in Virginia a couple of years back. She recommended that if we thought this was good legislation, that we work to create more of a public awareness of the benefits, and get broader redognition for the issue.

Again - none of us fro her district, but she's taking the time to discuss the bill with us (SHE approached us), and she also offered thoughts on how the concealed carry legislation might best proceed. Still think you can't make an impact on delegates from other districts?

ALWAYS KEEP IN MIND - some people are predisposed to help you, others are predisposed to oppose you - IT'S THE PEOPLE ON THE FENCE YOU ARE TRYING TO INFLUENCE.


Thanks for listening, and sorry for the long response, but I get a little worked up when people say "it's not worth it" to write people outside your own district, when we're fighting to protect our rights.

I've occasionally done so when the rep in question was the geographically closest rep who was on a committee of limited size. Most bills have to "get out of committee" before they have any chance of passing; better to encourage those on the committee to squash it early.

Normally you're wasting your time writing politicians who are not your representatives. They are only concerned with their own constituents.

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I very politely point out that even though I can't vote for him/her, I certainly can and do contribute to those who support my views, be they the incumbent or the challenger. And come the next election cycle I follow up with a nice letter with a check enclosed or a nice letter detailing why I am financially supporting the challenger.

Normally you're wasting your time writing politicians who are not your representatives. They are only concerned with their own constituents.

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I very politely point out that even though I can't vote for him/her, I certainly can and do contribute to those who support my views, be they the incumbent or the challenger. And come the next election cycle I follow up with a nice letter with a check enclosed or a nice letter detailing why I am financially supporting the challenger.

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Beyond that, at the state level the representatives are making decisions for the whole state. They need to hear from people outside their own districts.

I actually found one California anti-gun legislator, Jackie Speier, who understands that and provides responsive replies. I wouldn't vote for her, but I'd thank her and shake her hand if we happened to meet in person. Perhaps half a dozen on the pro-gun side pay attention to me - maybe it's some basic political philosophy more common there.

NO! And I hope and expect that my senator/representative promptly throws any such correspondence directly in the trash can.

Nobody from any other state/district has any business trying to influence my representatives, and neither do I have any business trying to influence those in other districts.

I very politely point out that even though I can't vote for him/her, I certainly can and do contribute to those who support my views, be they the incumbent or the challenger. And come the next election cycle I follow up with a nice letter with a check enclosed or a nice letter detailing why I am financially supporting the challenger.

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Now that just makes my blood boil!

If we were to have any campaign contribution laws, the first one should be that candidates cannot accept contributions from outside their district. I am so sick of this crap where out of state organizations are contributing funds to their pet issue/candidate. Even the feral.gov is doing it: a couple years back they sent a justice dept official around campaigning against our medical marijuana ballot issue.

NY, CA or any other state has no business throwing big bucks into Montana to try to buy votes.

YOUR Delegate Might Impact MY Rights

Tallpine,

I'm sorry, but if a delegate or Senator from YOUR district in Maryland is sitting on ANY state committee that passes legislation, he/she is impacting MY rights, and he/she will darn well hear from me if I don't like the bill being proposed. We don't make gun laws on the county/district level, they're made on the state level, and delegates from some districts are selected to sit on these committees, that make laws impacting the whole state.

I do. For instance, when a bill of interest is hung up in the Senate or House Judicial Committee, I write each of them. Some of my best feedback and information comes from out-of-county delegates.

After Rep. Virgil Goode wrote his letter to the President concerning the Heller case, I wrote a letter to him, both of my senators, and my representative.

Rep. Goode was the only one to respond. Sens. Coburn and Inhofe, and Rep. Cole, all appear to have ignored my letter (though I believe all signed on to Rep. Goode's cause).

Yes, I write to anybody who is standing up and doing the right thing.

I occasionally contact every state representative with what I hope is persuasive discussion of pending legislation. I do with two thoughts in mind:
1) Assuming they really want to do what is best for the state as well as what their own constituents want (okay, that is a dangerous assumption), my input may contribute to their understanding of the subject, and
2) As a citizen of the state, I do have a legitimate interest in their vote.

I frequently get polite replies, some of which really appear to be written to me rather than “Response #22.” Occasionally I get put on their mailing lists.

On rare occasions I write to representatives in other states – usually to thank, sometimes to attempt to persuade.

A cold hard fact of life is that in politics all that matters is "what have you done for me lately" and "what can you do for me in the future".
Corresponding to an elected official that you did not vote for in the past and
cannot vote for in the future is a futile gesture for 90% of politicians. They only pretend to care if you represent a potential vote. A few in office will
listen to nonconstituents as they care about the public good. These persons
are in a distinct minority.