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Press for Peace
Lobbying Action
October 12, 2007
Our grassroots network and national staff have generated more than 100 articles and letters-to-the-editor this year. There have also been numerous radio and television interviews and stories. Knowing that Congress is a reactive body and responds to continued positive pressure, we want to leverage the voice this coverage gives us. We're using this press for a lobbying action to make sure our Representatives know that cities and states everywhere are interested in a solution to the epidemic of violence.
Set a meeting with your local office to deliver a packet of press on Friday, October 12, 2007. You will want to download this press packet  , and this cover letter (RTF), which you can personalize to include information specific to your area if applicable. Then print them out and assemble in a nice folder (we typically use blue) and affix a Department of Peace label (which you can download from here) on the front. See below for tips on other materials to include as well.
If this is your first time to lobby, please join us on our National All Call on Tuesday, October 2 for more instructions. You can also review notes here for how to set an appointment and conduct a meeting. Additionally, feel free to call Kathy Kidd in our D.C. Office for any questions you have at 202-239-9673.
Additional information and support calls are scheduled for:
Thursday October 4 at Noon Pacific/2 PM Central/3 PM Eastern
Monday October 8 at 5:30 PM Pacific/7:30 PM Central/8:30 PM
Call-in number is 605-772-3001
Access code 470821#
Please note: If you call in and no one is on the line or the line is busy, please redial. There have been instances when people are parked on an empty or busy line. Keep dialing until you get into the call.
Step-by-step guide for how to participate in this action:
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Set an appointment with your member of Congress. We are focusing on Representatives, but feel free to educate your Senators. Keep in mind, we currently do not have a bill in the Senate, so you will be asking them to introduce the bill if you are meeting with your Senator. We suggest you focus on your Representative.
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D.C., Maryland and Virginia volunteers will be delivering packets to co-sponsors of the bill on Capitol Hill and asking them if they know anyone else they can talk to about becoming a co-sponsor. If you want to organize at least 50 people in your district doing a call-in campaign to the Hill office for your Representative who has not yet co-sponsored, and would like a packet delivered in D.C. at the same time you are meeting in-district, please
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or call the D.C. office at (202) 296-1187.
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In downloading your packet, please add any local press that has been generated in your state and in your district. Add any additional materials you think necessary, such as a copy of H.R. 808 and or a list of City Councils who have endorsed the legislation. Another good item to include is the White Paper “Hope on the Horizon : Making Cents of Peacebuilding.”
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Once your appointment is set and you have your materials, begin to organize your meeting.
- Plan what you will say: If there is at least one other person going with you, plan what each of you will say.
- End with a request: If your Representative is already a co-sponsor, who else can they enroll to join them? If they're not, would they be willing to co-sponsor the bill? Would the Representative respond with their thoughts on the bill?
- Follow Up: Use their response for your next step in building the relationship. If objections and/or questions arise during the meeting, use that as an opportunity for getting back to them with more information.
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Reach out to as many members of the community as possible to attend the meeting with you. If you have a member of the Student Peace Alliance in your area, schedule a time when they can attend. If you have police, program providers, teachers, etc., who support the bill, ask them to come with you or write a letter that you can take with you. If you want help from your State Coordinator or the National Office, please
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or call (202) 296-1187.
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Have as many people as possible call or fax the office the morning of your meeting. It is wonderful to walk in and have them expect you because they have been receiving calls and faxes all morning. Plus it provides them with the knowledge that there is sincere interest from their constituents. If it is only you or only a few of you, let this inspire rather than discourage you - there are many stories of one or a few people who have made a difference through their convictions.
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Remember, our purpose is to connect and educate, not convince. Research the issues that your member of Congress
supports. How do they tie in to the work of the Department of Peace? Is there a way you can connect based on issues they have supported in the past?
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If it seems your Representative is "never" going to support this bill, keep pressing. One never knows when the tide will turn and what issue will speak to them. And equally important, as citizens, we are exercising the right we have in a democracy. Each of us speaking out and refusing to become discouraged is what will usher in a new day and the full possibility of what true democracy offers.
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And lastly, have FUN and CELEBRATE! We are part of a global network for Ministries and Departments of Peace. We are making and shaping history and do not yet know the full impact of what we are doing. It is only in our knowledge of other movements - the abolition of slavery, women's suffrage, civil rights - that we have a glimpse of the greatness that is possible. We stand together in the deep possibility that we can learn to address all forms of conflict in nonviolent ways, and have the institutional platform and political will that passage of legislation for a cabinet-level Department will provide.
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