Legislative Boilerplate Letter

Important notes for the user of these sample letters:

  1. Copy the text of this document and paste it into your word precessing software (WORD?)
  2. It is very difficult to offer a generalized boilerplate letter that will fit specific situations. Some letters will require you to state the reasons that you are “for” or “against” a bill.  In other cases, you may want to tell your story to strengthen your argument. Both types of letters will require thought on your part.  I suggest that, after you have written your letter, reread it multiple times, maybe even out loud.  Remember, if it is calmly written from the heart, without noticeable anger or frustration, I believe your meaning will shine through.
  3. You can research bills in the legislature and discover your State Representatives and Senators by visiting pages 10-12 of the first newsletter at the following link:  The-WAR-Call-November-2018.pdf
  4. If you are not sure about arguments “for” or “against” a bill, you can do some research by perusing our website; look at the FACTS tab or the INFO tab (About WAR page or the Our Position on the Registry page).
  5. I have included two possible examples below.  One includes the telling of your story, especially when a piece of legislation relates to it.  The other is strictly to voice a concern about specific legislation.
  6. Red text indicates content that should be changed to your personal information.
  7. Blue text indicates instructions; remove this from your final copy
  8. Green text indicates an “example” to give you some ideas; remove this from your final copy
  9. Obviously, the entire letter (email) should be black prior to sending.

 

Sample Letter #1

Month, Day, Year

Senator/Representative John Doe
Street Address of the Capital Building,   Room XXX
City, State   Zip

Dear Senator/Representative Doe,

My name is Mary Smith and I live in City, State.  I am one of your constituents.  I am writing to you today to tell you my story that, like so many others, should give any legislator reason to think, or perhaps rethink, the way they address those who have been convicted of sex offenses in this state.

Briefly (in one page if possible, but not completely mandatory), describe the story you want to convey about your situation or the situation of a loved one.  This should be told in a logical, concise manner, with emotion but not with overt anger or frustration.  Do not discuss the specific details of your specific case but rather how you and so many others are affected by the registry, residency restrictions, stigma, etc.  It should not claim innocence; it should not blame others; it should not throw others “under the bus” by saying things like “my husband didn’t commit one of the really bad crimes.”  It should be heart-felt and point to where laws have fallen short, deprived certain people of their rights, are punitive, or are unconstitutional. Only you can write this story so I cannot include an example for you.  You have lived this so you are most qualified to write it. 

After the story is complete, you should end your letter with a request of your legislator.  The following is one example of this but there are many ways to phrase this request:

My family has lived with the stigma created by life on the registry; the fear, the unemployment, the residency restrictions, the harassment; we have lived with all of this.

Thank you for taking the time to hear my story.  For obvious reasons, I am asking that you vote “No” on HB XXX.  There are more than 900,000 men, women, and children on the sex offender registry in this county and perhaps 2-3 million more immediately-affected family members. I believe that we can and should write better laws and take better care of our citizens.  Of course, we need to protect and restore victims.  But we also need to restore perpetrators and the community at large.  And we need to make common sense laws based on scientific research, not fear. Please pay attention to the wealth of research about recidivism, residency restrictions, and other related topics when voting “for” or “against” bills in the future. The lives of my family members, and the lives of millions more in this nation depend on it.

Thank you so much for your consideration,

Respectfully,

Mary Smith
1234 Main St.
Town, State   Zip

 

Sample Letter #2

Month, Day, Year

Senator/Representative John Doe
Street Address of the Capital Building,   Room XXX
City, State   Zip

Dear Senator/Representative Doe,

My name is Mary Smith and I live in City, State.  I am one of your constituents.  I am writing to you today to voice my concern about several bills that have been filed in the current legislative session.

SB XXX: Briefly describe the parts of the bill that concern you and exactly why they are of concern. For example:

This bill will restrict those convicted of certain sex crimes from being near an athletic field.  A long history of restrictions for those required to register has shown that they do not actually benefit the public.  They provide a false sense of security for those who fear what they don’t understand.  Scientific studies have shown that those who commit any one of a myriad of sexual offenses have the second lowest recidivism rate of any crime category. And while these types of legislative restrictions do not offer any benefits to the public, they do seriously curtail the ability of those required to register as they attempt to reintegrate into society.  It is yet another of many obstacles placed in their path as they try to rebuild a decent law-abiding life. In addition, this law and so many other restrictive statutes are hurtful to the families of those required to register.  I can’t believe that was the intent of this bill but the fact is that many innocent family members are paying a price for these punitive legislative actions. Please vote against the passage of this bill.

Or:

This bill specifically excludes those required to register as sexual offenders from the benefits of the legislation.  Numerous studies have proven the ineffectiveness of the Registry; that it provides a false sense of security, that it pushes registrants into unemployment, homelessness, family separation, and to feelings of desperation.  Those required to register have already served a debt to society with a (most likely) harsh sentence of incarceration.  Many are just trying to build a decent law-abiding life.  But beneficial laws that exclude prior sex offenders are just making the problem worse. These laws play on the fears of unknowing citizens and grow the stigma against almost one million people required to register and countless more innocent family members.

I am asking that you support an amendment to this bill removing the sex offender exclusion.  In lieu of that effort, I am asking that you vote against the passage of this bill if and when you have the opportunity.

Thank you so much for your consideration,

Respectfully,

Mary Smith
1234 Main St.
Town, State   Zip