Team SASS: Second Amendment Postcards For Your Legislator

[Foard County News, SASS #77236]

Howdy All or should I say You All?

Currently the governments first phase on limiting Constitutional civil rights is being debated in the House and Senate. While we have a representative democracy, we sometimes need to remind our elected officials that we truly believe they were elected to be our public servants and not the other way around.

To those ends, I have built some generic PDF and Word templates complete with suggested language and format (contact me either on The Wire or at ng2951@yahoo.com) that will allow all the pards and pardettes to attract the attention of these legislators. The templates allow you to easily build 4 postcards using your printer and standard 8.5 x 11 cardstock paper.

All you need do is put the cardstock into your printer and print out as many sheets as you like. You then cut along the dashed lines which will give you 4 postcards; 2 for representatives and 2 for senators. Fill in your legislators name and sign with your address with your zip + 4.

It is important to put your address on the postcard so that the legislator can verify you are a constituent.

Address the postcards, on the blanks side, to your representative and senators (available at House.gov and Senate.gov) affix postage and sent out via pony express.

Why send a postcard?

Pretty simple. To a legislator postcards demonstrates there is an organization(s) that has a significant following among the voters on a particular issue. The fact that they are signed means voters sent this on their own and not through some e-mail mill. As they stack up they provide physical proof, literally, of the depth of interest by the voters. Legislators that ignore that issue do so at their own reelection peril.

Postcards besides being easier to send than a letter, move through the Washington mail handling facility much faster. This can cut four days off delivery.

All my legislators are on board. Do I need to send this to them anyway?

Absolutely! The more postcards they receive the more they are going to be emboldened to support our civil rights. This will also help immunize from the pressure of their leadership.

Who should I give them to?

Certainly your like minded friends!

Remember, anyone who likes firearms is a potential ally on this issue. This issue is one that is more bipartisan than people realize. The person whose politics you cannot stand, but you can play with at the range or discuss gun reports with, or has a CCW would probably be willing to mail these cards in. I know this is true because I gotten some rather liberal acquaintances to do so.

Yeah, OK, but do they work?

You will never know until the legislators vote, but silent voters are the ones legislators like best.

Cam Edwards from Cam & Company has mention in the past that a Mississippi gun control measure failed when a legislator held up the postcards he had received on the issue in the legislative chamber. He changed his vote from support to oppose and the bill was defeated.

I can also add my personal experience too. One of my senators legislative assistants called me to discuss/clarify the senators position. The best response I got before to my e-mails and phone calls were senatorial form e-mails. In a later e-mail I added that I had distributed a number of postcards the senator may have been receiving, the phone call followed. Still that could still just be coincident.

What else should I do?

Keep a stack of these postcard sheets with you and hand them out at events, club meetings, matches, and while standing in line a gun shows. E-mail the files to forums you are in. Get your friends to send one in and give them stack to distribute to their friends. Also keep printed lists of legislators DC mailing addresses you can hand out. The Word version can be customized with the legislators name and address.

You do not get extra credit for having your pard or pardette sign your postcard too. Two postcards are better than one.

Dont let mailing a postcard limit contacting your legislator. Make a phone call (be brief and civilits the cowboy way), send e-mails. If you got 10 of your friends to send one in say so in your e-mails or phone calls (always low ball the figure).

Arm yourself with the facts on all the issues. Have just a sentence or two say why you oppose the proposed bills whether to a legislator or someone while you are hitching up the horse. Make sure it is thoughtful that will win more support.

[Flashpowder Hal]

Sounds great.

 

Do you have a link to show us how to make our own?

[Kid Kneestone SASS #14851]

Thanks for your assistance. Send you an email.

 

Kid Kneestone

[Foard County News, SASS #77236]

Sounds great.

 

Do you have a link to show us how to make our own?

Well it is pretty simple. Just set up your word processor to print 2 columns (5.5") x 2 rows (4.25") per sheet. Then you can layout your text.

 

Here's my suggested text for Representatives:

 

Representative ______________________________________,

 

 

As a constituent of yours I have been closely following the proposed and introduced changes in our Second Amendment Civil Rights as being discussed in Washington D.C. This civil right was one our Founding Fathers believed was necessary to keep our citizens safe and free.

 

 

As a law abiding citizen I do not support any semi-auto bans, high capacity magazine ban, new ammunition restrictions, registration, and private sales restrictions.

 

 

President Obama has shown that he is willing through executive orders and other means to further restrict the civil rights of the law abiding majority. Restricting civil rights enshrined in the Constitution should only be allowed through the Amendment process. No president should modify this cornerstone civil right without the concurrence of the American people.

 

 

As a citizen I know that though a president may issue executive orders, Congress has the power to prevent its implementation by law or denying funding. I shall expect that Congress use the tools it has to stop the president from trampling on our civil rights or usurping the power from legislative and judicial branches.

 

 

I will closely monitor your actions on these issues as it will have a large influence on my vote and the votes of my friends in 2014.

Sincerely,

 

Here's the one for Senators:

 

Honorable ______________________________________,

 

 

As a constituent of yours I have been closely following the proposed and introduced changes in our Second Amendment Civil Rights as being discussed in Washington D.C. This civil right was one our Founding Fathers believed was necessary to keep our citizens safe and free.

 

 

As a law abiding citizen I do not support any semi-auto bans, high capacity magazine ban, new ammunition restrictions, registration, and private sales restrictions. The civil rights of the law abiding majority should not suffer due to the actions of the criminal few.

 

 

President Obama has shown that he is willing through executive orders and other means to further restrict the civil rights of the law abiding majority. Restricting civil rights enshrined in the Constitution should only be allowed through the Amendment process. No president should modify this

cornerstone civil right without the concurrence of the American people.

 

 

As a citizen I know that though a president may issue executive orders, the Senate wields considerable power that can stop implementation or cause the president to reconsider trampling on our civil rights or usurping power from legislative and judicial branches.

 

 

I will closely monitor your actions on these issues as it will have a large influence on my vote and the votes of my friends in 2014.

Sincerely,

 

 

I have contemplated sending one of the four cards to Speaker Boehner too, just as a reminder. I also see no reason why these cards could not be adapted for local second amendment rights either.

 

I do request if you this sort of thing please PM, comment, or send me an e-mail about what you did and how it went. We should duplicate the things that work or seem wise.

 

Adios,

[Foard County News, SASS #77236]

Thanks for your assistance. Send you an email.

 

Kid Kneestone

Let me know if it works for you. I really like going the extra mile for Californians.

[Virgil Ray Hality, SASS# 37355]

thumbs up !

[Foard County News, SASS #77236]

thumbs up !

Thanks...But it is much more important to get these postcards mailed in to the House and the Senate. Even if you are burning the phone and e-mail lines make sure you give these things out everywhere you go.

 

I gave 20 out to some people at a bookstore just tonight!

[Foard County News, SASS #77236]

After discussing this with a few like minded people I have changed one of the postcards to be send to the Speaker of the House, Representative John Boehner, The text is as follows.

 

Speaker John Boehner,

As a citizen I have been closely following the proposed and introduced changes in our Second Amendment Civil Rights as being discussed in Washington D.C. This civil right was one our Founding Fathers believed was necessary to keep our citizens safe and free.

As a law abiding citizen I do not support any semi-auto bans, high capacity magazine ban, new ammunition restrictions, registration, and private sales restrictions.

President Obama has shown that he is willing through executive orders and other means to further restrict the civil rights of the law abiding majority. Restricting civil rights enshrined in the Constitution should only be allowed through the Amendment process. Anyone who seeks to reduce or remove our Constitutional civil rights outside of this process would always find justifications, no matter how meager, to restrict or eliminate any or all civil rights. No president should modify this cornerstone civil right, or any other, without the concurrence of the American people through this process.

As a citizen I know that though a president may issue executive orders, Congress has the power to prevent its implementation by law or denying funding. I shall expect that Congress and the House Speaker use the tools it has to stop the president from trampling on our civil rights or usurping the power from legislative and judicial branches.

I have informed my state’s legislative delegation that I will closely monitoring yours and theirs actions on these issues as it will have a large influence on my vote and the votes of my friends in 2014.

Sincerely,