Quick and Dirty Messages to Legislators

If you’re like me, you don’t write to your representatives as often as you’d like.  I do, occasionally, write an official letter composed entirely from my own careful thoughts on the matter.  Other times, I do a quickie. For example, few days ago, I received this email from Americans for Responsible Solutions:

Victims of domestic violence and stalking are at an unacceptable risk of gun violence. In fact, 52.5% of people in the United States killed by their intimate partners were murdered with a gun.

That number is unacceptable. But there's a bill in Congress that will make it much more difficult for convicted stalkers and abusers to own a gun. Next week, for the first time in history, the Senate will hold a hearing on the links between gun violence and domestic violence.

People need to know the harsh realities of guns and domestic violence if we're going to change the law. Can you share this image to let your friends and family know how people are at risk of gun violence by their partners?

I did a little cutting and pasting (with no worries about plagiarism) and sent the following message to my Senator Joe Donnelly:

Victims of domestic violence and stalking are at an unacceptable risk of gun violence. In fact, 52.5% of people in the United States killed by their intimate partners were murdered with a gun.

That number is unacceptable. I’m sure you know there's a bill in Congress that will make it much more difficult for convicted stalkers and abusers to own a gun. Next week, when the Senate holds a hearing on the links between gun violence and domestic violence, please do all you can to encourage solutions to this serious problem.

I sent the following similar but longer message to my Senator Dan Coats:

Victims of domestic violence and stalking are at an unacceptable risk of gun violence. In fact, 52.5% of people in the United States killed by their intimate partners were murdered with a gun.

That number is unacceptable. I’m sure you know there's a bill in Congress that will make it much more difficult for convicted stalkers and abusers to own a gun. Next week, when the Senate holds a hearing on the links between gun violence and domestic violence, please do all you can to encourage solutions to this serious problem.  I know you are a strong supporter of the second amendment.  However almost every dangerous item has protective restrictions imposed on by government.  Cars, which are designed for transportation, still are rigorously regulated by government.  Guns, which are designed to do harm, need to be rigorously regulated as well.  Thank you.

If you are new to this, just knowing where to send it may be intimidating.  Just Google your legislators name and a link for contacting them should pop up as your first or second choice.

I acknowledge that these messages may not get the results I want.  Neither do many of my votes in elections, but I continue to vote.  My messages are another form of voting.