. . . and send some emails/letters. Not too much reaction over the MMM. Maybe now's the time to tip the scales.
http://www.phillynews.com/inquirer/2000/May/16/international/MARCH16.htm
Area Congress members hear little on gun march
WASHINGTON - U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah's office got just a handful of calls. Rep. Bob Borski's office got none at all. Neither did Robert Brady. Joseph Hoeffel heard from three people, as did Jim Saxton.
The day after the Million Mom March in Washington, D.C, area members of Congress were hardly swamped with messages - either from supporters demanding stricter gun control measures, or from those eager to counteract Sunday's image of thousands of mothers massed against gun violence.
An e-mail or two here, a phone call there - but, their offices said, nothing close to the level of constituent correspondence that followed the shootings at Columbine High School, the government's seizure of Elian Gonzalez, or other unexpected real-life dramas.
"Considering how big the event was, to have three or four e-mails and phone calls is not much of a reaction," said Frank Custer, spokesman for Montgomery County Democrat Hoeffel, who represents Pennsylvania's 13th district.
"Whenever one tries to move public policy in the nation as a whole, it's all about increments," said Republican Jim Greenwood of Bucks County. "No one issue, no one event, is ever going to turn the battleship on a dime.
"But I do think [the march] raises the stakes, raises the sensitivity on the part of elected officials on this issue."
If measured purely by next-day calls to Pennsylvania's two U.S. senators, the march boomeranged. Sen Arlen Specter's Washington office fielded 120, most expressing fear of infringement on the constitutional right to bear arms, according to spokesman Charles Robbins. Specter also received 200-plus e-mail messages, only a dozen of which supported the march.
Sen. Rick Santorum (R., Pa.) got more than 200 calls, most opposing "further gun-control laws," said spokeswoman Melissa Sabatine.
March organizers said yesterday that their focus never was the day after. Protesters were not especially urged to contact congressional offices yesterday, said Andrew McGuire, the march's executive director.
"We never put out the word to do something immediately. So if nothing was going on very much, if it was limited, that's clearly not surprising," McGuire said. "It's a goal of ours to make that happen over time, definitely."
To that end, volunteers in the coming months will survey elected officials at every level to gauge where they stand on gun control, he said. And marchers were encouraged to sign prepared cards for delivery to members of Congress.
The march, and a smaller counter-demonstration by the Second Amendment Sisters, took place as Congress remains sharply divided over proposals to curb gun violence. Grassroots messages to congressional offices are an important way to influence the debate, and no doubt they will come. But as of yesterday, they had not.
"We typically get several letters a week, but nothing in connection with this," said Karen Peck, spokeswoman for Borski, who represents Northeast Philadelphia.
In southern New Jersey, response from Republican Jim Saxton's constituents in Camden, Burlington and Ocean Counties consisted of two e-mails and one phone call, all backing the march.
Fattah's office reported less than half a dozen calls - "one very angry call against gun safety, and the others in support of the march," said spokeswoman Rebecca M. Kirszner.
Hoeffel's office got one call in favor and two opposed. And Republican Curt Weldon of Delaware County got two calls and eight e-mails, evenly divided.
©2000 Philadelphia Newspapers Inc.
------------------
The New World Order has a Third Reich odor.
(Edited to fix formatting - TBM)
[This message has been edited by TheBluesMan (edited May 17, 2000).]
http://www.phillynews.com/inquirer/2000/May/16/international/MARCH16.htm
Area Congress members hear little on gun march
WASHINGTON - U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah's office got just a handful of calls. Rep. Bob Borski's office got none at all. Neither did Robert Brady. Joseph Hoeffel heard from three people, as did Jim Saxton.
The day after the Million Mom March in Washington, D.C, area members of Congress were hardly swamped with messages - either from supporters demanding stricter gun control measures, or from those eager to counteract Sunday's image of thousands of mothers massed against gun violence.
An e-mail or two here, a phone call there - but, their offices said, nothing close to the level of constituent correspondence that followed the shootings at Columbine High School, the government's seizure of Elian Gonzalez, or other unexpected real-life dramas.
"Considering how big the event was, to have three or four e-mails and phone calls is not much of a reaction," said Frank Custer, spokesman for Montgomery County Democrat Hoeffel, who represents Pennsylvania's 13th district.
"Whenever one tries to move public policy in the nation as a whole, it's all about increments," said Republican Jim Greenwood of Bucks County. "No one issue, no one event, is ever going to turn the battleship on a dime.
"But I do think [the march] raises the stakes, raises the sensitivity on the part of elected officials on this issue."
If measured purely by next-day calls to Pennsylvania's two U.S. senators, the march boomeranged. Sen Arlen Specter's Washington office fielded 120, most expressing fear of infringement on the constitutional right to bear arms, according to spokesman Charles Robbins. Specter also received 200-plus e-mail messages, only a dozen of which supported the march.
Sen. Rick Santorum (R., Pa.) got more than 200 calls, most opposing "further gun-control laws," said spokeswoman Melissa Sabatine.
March organizers said yesterday that their focus never was the day after. Protesters were not especially urged to contact congressional offices yesterday, said Andrew McGuire, the march's executive director.
"We never put out the word to do something immediately. So if nothing was going on very much, if it was limited, that's clearly not surprising," McGuire said. "It's a goal of ours to make that happen over time, definitely."
To that end, volunteers in the coming months will survey elected officials at every level to gauge where they stand on gun control, he said. And marchers were encouraged to sign prepared cards for delivery to members of Congress.
The march, and a smaller counter-demonstration by the Second Amendment Sisters, took place as Congress remains sharply divided over proposals to curb gun violence. Grassroots messages to congressional offices are an important way to influence the debate, and no doubt they will come. But as of yesterday, they had not.
"We typically get several letters a week, but nothing in connection with this," said Karen Peck, spokeswoman for Borski, who represents Northeast Philadelphia.
In southern New Jersey, response from Republican Jim Saxton's constituents in Camden, Burlington and Ocean Counties consisted of two e-mails and one phone call, all backing the march.
Fattah's office reported less than half a dozen calls - "one very angry call against gun safety, and the others in support of the march," said spokeswoman Rebecca M. Kirszner.
Hoeffel's office got one call in favor and two opposed. And Republican Curt Weldon of Delaware County got two calls and eight e-mails, evenly divided.
©2000 Philadelphia Newspapers Inc.
------------------
The New World Order has a Third Reich odor.
(Edited to fix formatting - TBM)
[This message has been edited by TheBluesMan (edited May 17, 2000).]