The march is only the beginning…
Action #1: Program your phone. Help your friends and relatives in RED states program theirs. Commit to calling your legislators. Every damn day.
Why in the world would I do that? Indivisible has, since its inception, adopted the tactics of the Tea Party – the group of hyper-conservative voters who worked together to call their legislators every day. Like a form of water torture – short calls from constituents, over and over, can even wear down a legislator like Wyoming Sen. Cynthia Loomis. She may be the recipient of a “lifetime A plus rating” from the National Rifle Association, but like all politicians, she just wants to be reelected.
Calling legislators works!
(CNN) In the immediate aftermath of the Uvalde, Texas, school shooting, which left 19 children and two teachers dead, Republican Sen. Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming said she doubted that ideas being weighed in Congress to curb gun violence would be welcomed in her very pro-gun state.
“Expanding that would not be acceptable in the state of Wyoming,” she said then about a proposal to bolster background checks on gun purchases.
But two weeks later, Lummis signaled a fresh openness Tuesday to find legislative solutions to gun violence after she was “surprised” that her office was flooded with calls from constituents expressing a deep desire to do something to stop the spate of mass shootings across the country.
“We’ve received so many calls,” she told CNN.
“… a founding member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, [she stated,] “I am of the opinion that it’s more of a mental health issue than a gun issue. But, you know, I’m listening to what people from Wyoming are saying.”
She is now considering voting for a package of legislative remedies that could include changes to red flag laws, mental health programs, school security and opening juvenile criminal records to gun background checks.”
Calling legislators works! Do a NAACP “Power of 5”-style phone campaign!:
- Reach out to five voters you know in RED states and teach them how to program their phones and call their legislators. Reach out an encourage them as they get used to making calls.
- Then ask each of them to do the same with five of their friends and relatives. Build a phone tree or resistance that rings the phones off GOP legislators’ desks.
Action #2 – STATE: Brady bills are now passing through the opposite chamber. Encourage your state legislators to vote for them.
Minimal call script to state senators: I’m calling from [zip code] and I want Senator [___] to support bills to reduce gun violence. Are you ready to take down a list?: (just read the black lettering)
- AB-452 – Pupil safety: parental notification: firearm safety laws. (school notice of safe storage laws) )
- AB-1621 – Firearms: unserialized firearms. (ghost gun ban))
- AB-2552 – Firearms: gun shows and events. ((gun show oversight)
- AB-1769 – Firearms: prohibited places. Stops sales of firearm, firearm precursor part, or ammunition on the property or in the buildings that comprise the Ventura County Fair and Event Center, in Ventura & Ventura county)
Minimal call script to assemblymembers: I’m calling from [zip code] and I want Assemblymember [___] to support the following bills reduce gun violence. (just read the black lettering)
- SB-915 – Firearms: state property. (Sales of firearms, firearm precursor part, or ammunition would no longer be permitted on state property, or property otherwise owned, leased, occupied, or operated by the state.)
- SB-1384 – Firearms: dealer requirements. (gun dealer code of conduct )
State Contacts
- State Senator Monique Limón (SD-19): sd19.senate.ca.gov/contact, SAC (916) 651-4019, SB (805) 965-0862, OX (805)988-1940
- State Senator Henry Stern (SD-27): sd27.senate.ca.gov/contact, SAC (916) 651-2027, Calabasas (818) 876-3352
- State Assemblymember Steve Bennett: (CA-37): https://a37.asmdc.org/contact, SAC (916) 319-2037, SB (805) 564-1649, VTA (805) 641-370
- State Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin: (CA-44): https://a44.asmdc.org, SAC (916) 319-2044, CAM (805) 482-1904, OX (805) 483-4488
- Not your people? Which assemblymember/state senator is mine?:findyourrep.legislature.ca.gov.
Action #3 – FEDERAL: Tell your legislators we expect substantive change.
Federal Contacts
- Rep. Julia Brownley (CA-26): email, DC (202) 225-5811, Oxnard (805) 379-1779, T.O. (805) 379-1779
- or Rep. Salud Carbajal (CA-24): email. DC (202) 225-3601, SB (805) 730-1710 SLO (805) 546-8348
- Senator Feinstein: email, DC (202) 224-3841, LA (310) 914-7300, SF (415) 393-0707, SD (619) 231-9712, Fresno (559) 485-7430
- and Senator Padilla: email, DC (202) 224-3553, LA (310) 231-4494, SAC (916) 448-2787, Fresno (559) 497-5109, SF (415) 981-9369, SD (619) 239-3884
- Who is my representative/senator?: https://whoismyrepresentative.com
Wait a minute…Why am I calling? My legislators are Democrats!
- Why do we need to call? Why do we need to call every day?”
- Answer: People who agree with your viewpoint are NOT the only ones calling. People who disagree with you will be calling every day too. Multiple times. Our legislators keep tallies of the calls. We want them to know what we think, and to tell their colleagues that they have a HUGE number of calls on a particular bill with our point of view. Being the majority is our super power. Plus, sometimes a “Democratic” legislator surprises us. (Cough, cough, Sinema) Never assume anything.
- “Why do I need to call? Why not emails, those nifty new fax services or those bot thingies?”
- Answer: Calls are answered by live people and their tally is immediate. Other methods require someone to read through your message and tally it. Later. Maybe. After face-to-face meetings and town halls, phone calls are our most powerful option.
- “Why just my own legislators? Why can’t I call all the GOP legislators who are voting for horrible bills?”
- Answer: There are two forms of power for politicians. Money and votes. Unless you can offer a substantial donation to their re-election campaigns, the only thing you’ve got is your vote. And if it’s not your own senator, you don’t even have that. Their interns on the phone will be very nice, but they will not tally your calls or email.
- “But our people aren’t on the committee that’s working on a bill I’m interested in. Logically, don’t those legislators who are on the committee have to represent us too?”
- Answer: No. No, they don’t. (Unless you are giving them a huge campaign donation. See above.) Try this thought experiment… Do you see Mitch McConnell really trying to fairly represent the wishes of progressive Californians while he sits in committees? No, neither do we. While the bill is being kicked around in the committee, start calling your own legislators to tell them what you’d like them to do if or when it hits the floor for a full vote.
- “So how do we reach those legislators in other areas?”
- Answer: Through your family and friends who live in their states. Help them program their phones with their 5 legislator contacts and teach them how to make fast calls. Keep in touch and make sure that they are confirmed to vote, especially in red states.
- OK, so what do I do? What do I say?
- We provide sample scripts with every call action. You only have to tell the intern who answers the phone what position you want the legislator to take. You don’t have to lecture or argue with them. They are just taking a tally. The formula is easy.
- 1. Be nice and say “hello.’ The interns who answer the phones have a hard job. We always try to find out their names, so we can greet them when we call again.
- 2. “I’m calling from [zip code] – this establishes that their boss is responsible to you.
- 3. “I would like Sen/Rep./Assemblymember/etc. [name] to vote [YES, NO] on [Bill name, number].”
- or “I would like Sen/Rep./Assemblymember/etc. [name] to vote [PASS, VOTE AGAINST] [describe
- legislation]”
- We provide sample scripts with every call action. You only have to tell the intern who answers the phone what position you want the legislator to take. You don’t have to lecture or argue with them. They are just taking a tally. The formula is easy.
- DONE! This usually only takes about 10 minutes to do a round of these phone calls. Try to talk to an actual person instead of leaving a message by trying different offices.
- More personal, more effort = more effect. Aside from in-person meetings at town halls and so forth, phone calls are the most effective form of communicating with your members of Congress. Phone calls can’t be ignored. Emails, and social-media posts, and petitions can be ignored. Letters – also a lot of effort, especially those with personal stories the legislator can share, are powerful tools as well. Feel free to write/email/post on social media, but only if you make a phone call as well.
Resources
- (NAACP) Gun Violence Prevention Issue Brief
- (Brady) The Brady Plan – A Comprehensive Approach to Prevent Gun Violence
- (MFOL) It Ends With Us – A Plan to Reinmagine Public Safety
- (DavidHogg) Mass shootings can be stopped only if we work together. Americans can stop the violence and it starts by joining one of 450 marches nationwide
- (Black2thefuture) Roadmap 2022 – A Black, Progressive Policy Brief
- (indivisibleventura) “‘No Way To Prevent This,’ Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens.”
- (indivisibleventura) Gun violence is a national health emergency. Ask Biden and our legislators to treat it that way.
INDIVISIBLE VENTURA 