What to do if your Senator or Rep. is Anti-gun

[bfieldburt]

Your Senator or Rep is Anti-gun? What to do.
This is the strategy you need to employ:

First, find out what bill that senator or representative is pushing, his or her little pet projects. Then call their office. Tell the secretary (or the actual senator or represenative if you are lucky enough to get through to them) that you--and a couple dozen of your friends with lots of freetime on your hands-- are going to work against those bills SPECIFICALLY because he/she is working against your interests by supporting, say, an AWB renewal bill or something. It might not make a difference, but when that senator or reps pet bills are on the table, she/he will be forced to think more about his or her actions.

Q: Why does this often work?
A: Because many of these legislators vote anti-gun simply because gun rights/freedoms aren't a big deal to them, BUT, some things do matter to them. This method forces them to decide how much them really want their bills to pass (probably a lot) and if the defeat of those charished bills is worth voting against something they don't really care a lot about anyway.

Things to remember: do this, be firm, but also be polite. The legislator WILL NOT respond favorably to this approach. Who likes to be called to task? But they will respond, to your benefit, if enough people do this? Being openly rude, however, might galvanize them emotionally against you.

Also, using the carrot and the stick, you can pledge to help them with their pet bill(s) IF they support your bill. They will not say "Yes" with you on the phone. Simply tell them or the secretary that you will be watching their vote and then support or fight against their bills based on that vote on the gun issue.

Please spread this far and wide. This happens all the time amongst legislators. This is simply empowering you as a citizen by using the same methods that the legislators, themselves, already employ.

Questions--send me an e-mail.

 

[Brat7748]

Nice idea...but what if your Senators are Clinton and Schumer?

 

[FPrice]

"but what if your Senators are Clinton and Schumer?"

Or Teddy "I'll drive" Kennedy and John "Effing" Kerry?

Actually bfieldburt I think you do have a good idea there. Of limited use to some of us who are outside of politics, but with some potential. I'll try to keep it in mind.

Thanks for proposing something concrete to act upon.

 

[bfieldburt]

Right, if we are talking about Kennedy, or Boxer, or Clinton or some other freedom-hating legislator, this won't work because gun control IS their pet project. But you never need the Antis to win. It is the moderate, swing voters that you need to capture. As a breakdown, about 1/3rd of legislators are PRO-GUN, about 1/3rd and ANTI-GUN and nothing you say or do with change their opinions. So the game is played in trying to capture the remaining 1/3rd. It is with this group that the above-mentioned strategy should be employed.

NOTE: I'm not the genius here. This strategy was first taught me by two professional lobbyists who were then in the employ of Gun Owners of America. They both said that the only thing that legislators respond to IS PRESSURE. This strategy had been employed, time and time again, according to them, usually by citizens under these lobbyists' direction. There is no reason that groups like us, on these boards, can't do the exact same thing to our benefit.