A CALL TO PRAYER AND ACTION: CHARLESTON

This brochure is a handout that may help us focus on some positive step in response to the Charleston tragedy. It is prepared so you can download, re-format into two columns on a narrow-margin document, and print back-to-back. Then by cutting down the center, you print two documents per page.

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NORTH TEXAS CONFERENCE

UNITED METHODIST WOMEN

CALL TO PRAYER AND ACTION

“Let justice roll down like waters….”

We have more than enough knowledge/facts to see that we cannot legislate tolerance, despite some efforts. We cannot legislate morality. We know that we cannot legislate legal behavior, although we have many laws defining legal and illegal behavior. Can we legislate justice?

This latest tragedy in South Carolina is another dreadful statistic for our book of knowledge: One young man killed nine people with a handgun. Those are facts not to be debated. But once again it brings us to the question: what do we do, and here continues the long-recurring debate.

Accepting John Wesley’s conviction that knowledge demands action, we start with prayer, wherein we ask for grace and mercy and discernment as to the course of action we should follow. The one action we can take freely in this instance is to determine to embody and promote love. But, to let justice roll down like waters, we must move into further action.

The Rev. Cynthia Moore-Koikoi of the Baltimore-Washington Conference said since the Charleston tragedy: “The Church has to provide the vision for what can be and the assurance that the vision is possible in spite of the present circumstances. When we pray, ‘Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven,’ we are committing ourselves to the work of community building.” To build community necessarily demands that we do justice.

WE United Methodist Women are the Church. And we are by our very Purpose committed to community building: “to develop a creative, supportive fellowship,” by turning Faith, Hope and Love into action, not just within our individual units and churches but throughout the world.

One aspect of this tragedy that requires vision and demands our attention is the racial attitude involved. We need to understand more about how racism continues to manifest itself in our communities and in our own behaviors. Could it possibly be that, somehow, we might have fostered fear or suspicion of “the other” in some uneasy mind?

On October 3, the NTC of UMW will sponsor a day-long study racism at FUMC Denton. The study will be open to all and will be led by Janis Rosheuvel, executive for racial justice for United Methodist Women in NYC. Ms. Rosheuvel will explain how racism is systemic to our U.S. government and culture and how we can help change the system. You might plan to attend this study.

In Denton there is the Denton Association of Christian Women, an inter-denominational, inter-racial group of women who meet to get to know each other and to learn about Denton, its successes and its challenges. If your community has such a group and you aren’t currently a part of it, consider joining—or help start a group.

Another possibility to consider is participating in the coalition called “Tale of Two States: Handgun Purchaser Licensing Saves Lives.” The UMC is a part of Faiths United to Prevent Gun Violence, a coalition of more than 50 national faith groups and organizations that launched this initiative earlier this month. The initiative will educate faith leaders and the general public about the effectiveness of purchaser-licensing to save lives from gun violence. Recent studies released by the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy & Research shows that handgun purchaser-licensing legislation led to a decrease in gun homicides in two states. For further information or to endorse this resolution, go to the website www.taleoftwostates.com.

And we must notify our legislators that we insist they take action— to create laws that are meant to support and protect us equally; to be sure those laws are enforced fairly; to make education and opportunity equally accessible to every citizen; to put us on the path to provide “liberty and justice for all.” Call or email your U.S. legislators.

To do nothing is not an option. Our faith, our Church, our young people, our country are calling us to take this heartbreaking knowledge and prove ourselves committed to act to build a community of this nation and world, where justice rolls down like waters.

UMCOR HEALTH KITS

We all know that UMCOR constantly needs various kits--others are listed in this blog--but right now health kits are their greatest need. Additionally, the North Texas Conference UMW is collecting health kits and/or their contents as our annual project and our goal is 7500 kits by the time of our annual celebration on October 17. Listed below are the contents and instructions for compiling the kit.

To print two copies per 8-1/2x11 page, copy the information into a Word document, format it for narrow margins and two columns. Then you can print sheets back-to-back, cut the pages in half vertically, and have two narrow handouts per sheet.
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UMCOR

United Methodist

Committee on Relief

Where 100% of the gift goes to the designated project

Health Kits

Value: $12.00

1 hand towel

15x25 to 17x27 inches; kitchen, cleaning and microfiber towels not acceptable

1 washcloth

1 comb

Comb needs to be sturdy; no pocket combs or picks, please; rattail combs and combs without handles are acceptable

1 metal nail file or clipper

No emery boards or toenail clippers, please

1 bath-size soap

3 oz. and larger sizes only; do not remove from original packaging

1 toothbrush

Adult size only; do not remove from original packaging

6 adhesive bandages

¾” to 1” size; common household bandaids

1 plastic bag

One-gallon size sealable bags only

$1 to purchase toothpaste

Pack items in a secure box and address to UMCOR, Sager Brown Depot, POBox 850, 131 Sager Brown Road, Baldwin, LA 70514-0850

(For regular donations, you may send $12 to UMCOR, 475 Riverside Drive, #1520, New York, NY 10115. Include an extra dollar for shipping. You may also contribute on-line at umcor.org.

Assembly Directions

Set the $1 for toothpaste aside to be included in a separate envelope.

Lay out the hand towel flat on a table. Lay the washcloth flat in the center of the hand towel. Place all remaining items on top of the wash cloth. Fold over the sides of the hand towel to cover all of the items. Fold over one end of the hand towel so that it covers all of the items. Grasp the bundle of items tightly and roll over the remainder of the hand towel tightly. Place the tightly rolled bundle in the plastic bag. Remove as much air as possible and seal the bag.

Important Notes

-All items must be new.

-Do not wash any of the items, as they will then be considered used.

-Please remove all packaging except as noted.

-All emergency kits are carefully planned to make them usable in the greatest number of situations. Since strict rules often govern product entry into international countries, it is important that kits contain only the requested items—nothing more.

-DO NOT include any personal notes, money or additional material in the kits. These things must be painstakingly removed and will delay the shipment.

-UMCOR is now purchasing toothpaste in bulk to be added to health kits before shipping to ensure that the product does not expire before being sent. Do not put single dollar bills in each kit. Collect all monies for toothpaste and shipping, place it in a separate envelope and send along with the kit donations.

Packing Kits

Box Weight. Each packed box cannot exceed 66 pounds.

Shipping Kits

1.Complete two packing lists—one for your records and one to put on the shipping box. If you are sending a complete health kit/s, you may simply indicate how many kits at the value declared on this sheet.

2.Paste the shipping label/packing list on the outside of each box you send. The shipping list helps the depot to quickly process kits.

3. Processing & Shipping Costs: Please enclose an envelope containing at least $1 for each kit you send. This donation enables UMCOR to send kits without administrative costs.

CLOSING THE COVERAGE GAP IN TEXAS

This post is from the website of CoverTexasNow.org. More information about the very positive effects of Medicaid expansion is available there, but this one-page fact sheet offers a great deal of information.
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Key Facts: Closing the Coverage Gap in Texas

1. Texas Association of Business supports coverage expansion. “It just makes sense for us from the business perspective.” http://insurancenewsnet.com/oarticle/2014/11/28/will-legislature-reverse-course-and-expand-medicaid-a-575165.html#.VL6suEfF9rg. TAB Legislative agenda (see page 12): http://www.txbiz.org/advocacy/publications.aspx

2. The Texas Hospital Association promotes the “Texas Way,” a solution that would negotiate with the Federal government to draw down money but design the program ourselves. http://healthcare.dmagazine.com/2014/11/11/texas-hospital-associations-texas-way-campaign; http://www.tha.org/HealthCareProviders/Issues/HealthCareCoverage/TexasWay/

3. The Perry-appointed Institute on Health Care Quality and Efficiency recommends expanding coverage. http://www.texastribune.org/2014/11/12/perry-appointed-board-endorses-coverage-expansion/

4. Former State Deputy Comptroller Billy Hamilton estimates that Medicaid expansion would free up a minimum of 1.2 billion of 2014-2015 General Revenue (GR) that is currently expended on this same population through a patchwork of healthcare programs for the uninsured. http://texasimpact.org/content/extending-medicaid-low-income-adults-would-free-more-1-billion-gr-2014-2015. Full report on his assessment of what Medicaid expansion would do to the Texas economy can be found at: http://texasimpact.org/2013-Medicaid-Expansion-Report

5. The Perryman Group estimates that “every $1 spent by the State returns $1.29 in dynamic State government revenue over the first 10 years of the expansion. In other words, the State actually makes money by participating in the Medicaid expansion.” Dr. Perryman is a well-known and oft-cited economist at Rice University: http://perrymangroup.com/wp-content/uploads/Medicaid_Expansion.pdf.

6. Funds could be acquired from budget offsets and/or increased general revenue as suggested by Billy Hamilton and the Perryman Group. HHSC and LBB 2014-2017 estimates on the state GR cost for doing Medicaid expansion in Texas are no more than 1.03 billion a biennium. http://www.hhsc.state.tx.us/news/presentations/2012/080112-Senate-HHS-ACA-Presentation.pdf; http://www.lbb.state.tx.us/Documents/Appropriations_Bills/83/Decision_Docs/Expansion%20Estimate%20March%2004%202013.pdf

7. PricewaterhouseCooper’s report on Medicaid Expansion’s effect on uncompensated care, which speaks to hospital financing and how hospitals will suffer without some sort of Medicaid Expansion. http://www.pwc.com/us/en/health-industries/health-research-institute/assets/pwc-hri-medicaid-report-final.pdf.

8. Harris Health Systems in Houston has laid off 113 people. “Harris Health officials have blamed the deficit on several factors, chief among them the state's decision not to opt for expanded Medicaid from the federal government.” http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Harris-Health-laying-off-113-workers-will-leave-6012993.php

9. A Jackson-Hewitt report states that “the decision in Texas to forego the Medicaid expansion may increase federal tax penalties on Texas employers by $266 to $399 million each year.” State Medicaid Choices and the Hidden Tax Surprises for Employers: http://www.jacksonhewitt.com/uploadedfiles/jacksonhewitt2014com/content/resource_center/healthcare_and_taxes/resources/medicaidchoices_taxsurprises.pdf

Infographic Sources: Families USA: http://familiesusa.org/product/top-9-occupations-employed-uninsured-texans-who-would-benefit-closing-coverage-gap (employment); Kaiser: http://kff.org/health-reform/issue-brief/the-coverage-gap-uninsured-poor-adults-in-states-that-do-not-expand-medicaid-an-update/ (working families); HHSC - http://www.hhsc.state.tx.us/news/presentations/2013/030813-medicaid-expansion.pdf; (# in gap).

For online list of resources go to: www.TexasWellandHealthy.org or www.CoverTexasNow.org

RACE AND SENTENCING IN TEXAS

This is the second posting about race and sentencing. (The first is Death Penalty in Texas.) The document is prepared for a two-column, back-to-back handout. I don't know why there's a shaded background, and I can't get rid of it! Maybe you can.

You may contact your State legislators any time about this issue. Just type Texas legislature in your browser and follow the links for phone numbers or e-mails.

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Race and Sentencing in Texas

Ways in Which Race Can Impact Sentencing

Race of the Victim.....Nationally, nearly 80% of murder victims in cases resulting in an execution have been white, even though nationally only 50% of murder victims generally are white. A 1990 examination of death penalty sentencing conducted by the United States General Accounting Office noted that, "In 82% of the studies [reviewed], race of the victim was found to influence the likelihood of being charged with capital murder or receiving the death penalty, i.e., those who murdered whites were found more likely to be sentenced to death than those who murdered blacks." Individual state studies have found similar disparities. In fact, race of victim disparities have been found in most death penalty states.

Race of the Defendant.....Nationally, the racial composition of those on death row is 45% white, 42% black, and 10% Latino/ Latina. Of states with more than 10 people on death row, Texas (70%) and Pennsylvania (69%) have the largest percentage of minorities on death row. Year 2000 census data revealed that the racial composition of the United States was 75.1% white, 12.3% black and 12.5% Latino/Latina. While these statistics might suggest that minorities are overrepresented on death row, the same statistical studies that have found evidence of race of victim effects in capital sentencing have not conclusively found evidence of similar race of defendant effects. In fact, while some studies show that the race of the defendant is correlated with death sentences, no researcher has made definitive findings that the death sentence is being imposed on defendants on account of their race, per se, independently of other variables (such as type of crime) which are correlated with defendants' race.

Race of the Jurors.....In capital cases, one juror can represent the difference between life and death. A belief that members of one race, gender, or religion might generally be less inclined to impose a death sentence can lead the prosecutor to allow as few of such jurors as possible. For example, a Dallas Morning News review of trials in that jurisdiction found systematic exclusion of blacks from juries. In a two-year study of over 100 felony cases in Dallas County, the prosecutors dismissed blacks from jury service twice as often as whites. Even when the newspaper compared similar jurors who had expressed opinions about the criminal justice system (a reason that prosecutors had given for the elimination of jurors, claiming that race was not a factor), black jurors were excused at a much higher rate than whites. Of jurors who said that either they or someone close to them had had a bad experience with the police or the courts, prosecutors struck 100% of the blacks, but only 39% of the whites.

Race of the Prosecutor.....Whenever and wherever capital punishment is authorized by law, the decision whether or not to seek a death sentence in particular cases is left to the discretion of the prosecutor. A 1998 examination of Chief District Attorneys in states with the death penalty found that nearly 98% are white, 1% are black, and 1% are Hispanic.

Issues of Race Raised by the Gary Graham Case, Texas

Concerns about the influence of race on the application of the death penalty in Texas were central to a 1993 civil rights claim raised by attorneys representing Gary Graham. A complaint filed with the U.S. Department of Justice by the NAACP Legal Defense Fund contended that Graham was on death row as a direct result of widespread racial discrimination within the Texas criminal justice system. The claim was filed just days before Graham’s first scheduled execution date, and it pointed to a series of troubling racial disparities in Harris County, where Graham was tried and sentenced to death. The NAACP’s complaint presented evidence that black Texans who reside in Harris County are arrested, imprisoned, and sentenced to death in numbers that are vastly disproportionate to their representation in the population. It noted:

The incarceration rate in 1991 for black people in Harris County was nine times greater than the incarceration rate for white people.

In the same year, 61% of all offenders sent to prison from Harris County were black (although only 18% of the county’s population was black).

55% of the people on death row from Harris County were black, while only 35% were white.

Among people on death row from Harris County who, like Graham, were sentenced to death for crimes that occurred when they were teenagers, 73.3% were black and only 13.3% were white.

Graham's attorneys presented these disparities as “probable cause” for the Department of Justice to conduct a full investigation of the influence of racial bias in the criminal justice system in Texas.

From Race and the Death Penalty | Capital Punishment in Context

THE DEATH PENALTY IN TEXAS

NATIONAL CALL TO

ABOLISH DEATH PENALTY

As a denomination, the United Methodist Church opposes the death penalty. So does the United Methodist Women… Japan is the only industrial democracy besides the United States that has the death penalty. In Japan, the 2013 per capita execution rate was 1 execution per 15,809,458 persons.

Following is one related posting, Death Penalty in Texas; I will add a second. Both will be prepared for a two-column, back-to-back handout.

Remember: We can contact our State legislators at any time by way of the State's website. Just type Texas legislature in your browser and follow the links.

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THE DEATH PENALTY IN TEXAS

Texas has executed 518 people since 1982, more than 1/3 of the 1,394 executions nationwide since 1977.Currently 275 people are on death row in Texas.

The average cost of a Texas death penalty case is $2.3 million vs. $750,000 for life in prison. (Dallas Morning News 1992) A separate housing facilty for death row inmates costs $61.58 per day.

Each county pays for its own trials and the state appeals process. Often, smaller or poorer counties cannot afford to seek the death penalty. These costs have caused some counties to raise tax rates and withhold employee raises.

135 of Texas’ 254 counties have never sent a single offender to death row. However, because state tax dollars pay for the federal habeas corpus process, every Texas resident is contributing to the enormous costs of death penalty appeals. This means that tax dollars of Texans in the counties that cannot afford to try death penalty cases still subsidize the “wealthier” counties that do seek the death penalty.

Texas ranks 47^th nationally in terms of per capita spending on mental healthcare. It ranks 1^st in executions (more than 400 since 1982).

Around 30% of those incarcerated in Texas prisons or jails have been clients of the state’s public mental health system. (TX Dept. of Criminal Justice)

Execution schedule through June 18, 2015

On January 21, 2015, Texas executed Arnold Prieto

On January 28, Texas executed Garcia White

On February 4, Texas executed Donald Newbury

On February 10, execution for Lester Bower Jr. stayed

On March 5, execution for Rodney Reed stayed

On March 11, Texas executed Manuel Vasquez

On March 18, execution for Randall Mays stayed

On April 9, 2015, Texas executed Kent Sprouse

On April 15, Texas will execute Manuel Garza

On April 23, Texas will execute Richard Vasquez

On April 28, Texas will execute Robert Pruett

On May 12, Texas will execute Derrick Charles

On June 18, Texas will execute Gregory Russeau

Main factors that determine who is executed are local politics, the quality of legal counsel, the location of

the crime, plea bargaining, and pure chance. Offenders who commit similar crimes under similar circumstances often receive vastly different sentences. The race of both the offender and victim, as well as social and economic status, also play a large part in deciding who lives and who dies.

The death penalty cannot be justified as a necessary public safety measure because it has not been proven to reduce crime. Most research on the death penalty demonstrates that the possibility of being sentenced to death does not deter criminals from committing either calculated or spontaneous crimes.

States that maintain the death penalty traditionally have higher murder rates than the national average, according to FBI data. No connection has ever been made to link the rate of murders in a state to its use of the death penalty. Some countries that have abolished the death penalty, such as Canada, have since

experienced a decline in violent crime.

A 2009 national poll commissioned by the Death Penalty Information Center found that police chiefs ranked the death penalty last among ways to reduce violent crime and the least efficient use of taxpayers’ money. In addition, a 2009 study by the University of Texas at Dallas found “no empirical support for the argument that the existence or application of the death penalty deters prospective offenders from committing homicide.”

32 The FBI Uniform Crime Report consistently shows the South, which accounts for more than 80% of executions, to have the highest murder rate in the nation. The Northeast, which has carried out less than 1% of all executions, typically has the lowest murder rate.

Supreme Court Evaluation of Racial Bias in the Criminal Justice System.  A 1990 study found racial disparities in the charging, sentencing, and imposition of the death penalty. The study concluded that a defendant was several times more likely to be sentenced to death if the murder victim was white. This has been confirmed by the findings of many other studies that, holding all other factors constant, the single most reliable report, the non-partisan U.S. General Accounting Office found "a pattern of evidence indicating predictor of whether someone will be sentenced to death is the race of the victim.”

Nationally, the racial composition of those on death row is 45% white, 42% black, and 10% Latino/ Latina. Of states with more than 10 people on death row, Texas (70%) and Pennsylvania (69%) have the largest percentage of minorities on death row. Year 2000 census data revealed that the racial composition of the United States was 75.1% white, 12.3% black and 12.5% Latino/Latina.

In January of 2012  an analysis by the Houston Chronicle found that 12 of the last 13 people condemned to death in Harris County, Texas were black. After Texas itself, Harris County is the national leader in its number of executions. Over one third of Texas's 305 death row inmates – and half of the state's 121 black death row prisoners – are from Harris County. One of those African Americans, Duane Buck, was sentenced based on the testimony of an expert psychologist who maintained that blacks are prone to violence. In 2008, Harris County District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal resigned after sending an email message titled "fatal overdose", featuring a photo of a black man lying on the ground surrounded by watermelons and a bucket of chicken.

(Info from Texas Coalition to Abolish Death Penalty and Texas and Death Penalty Education and Resource Center) 

NATIVE AMERICAN INDIAN SUNDAY: APRIL 19, 2015

This is a brief explanation about Native American Indian Sunday. Two-column, back-to-back piece, if desired.
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NATIVE AMERICAN SUNDAY

APRIL 19, 2015

Some frequently asked questions……….

There are over 18,000 known Native people in The United Methodist Church. The largest group are members within the Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference, but Native United Methodists and ministries may be found from the tip of Florida to Alaska. Native people serve the church in every capacity and their churches have the highest percentage of female pastors in the denomination.

Which is proper: Native American or American Indian? Either is acceptable. In The United Methodist Church we generally use Native American/Alaskan Native in official publications. Most Native people in the lower 48 states still call themselves "Indian.” Some prefer to be tribally specific, such as "I am Hidatsa.”

The term Native American was developed to include American Indians and Alaskan Natives together. In Canada, Native people are called Aboriginal People, or Natives. Currently, the word Native is used to describe the collective indigenous population of North and South America.

Do Native Christians worship differently from other Christians? Primarily, no. Native United Methodists believe in the theology and polity of The United Methodist Church. In visiting a United Methodist Native congregation, you would find many similarities. Like any other local congregation, Native churches incorporate elements of culture, work, and interest into their worship experiences.

There are unique features in some Native churches and ministries that are often a part of the worship experience. Most Native worship services include the singing of hymns in one or several Native languages. Some churches do not have piano or organ, while some choose not to use them during traditional hymn singing.

Why do we observe Native American Sunday--or What makes Native people special? Within the Body of Christ, every person, every culture has unique gifts to refresh the Church. The contributions of Native people, as individuals and groups are not more important than the contributions of other Christians. Native people, however, are among the poorest and most marginalized of society and also the Church. The unfortunate fact is that people without "power” of wealth or social status tend to be overlooked.

There are over 554 federally recognized (those with nation-to-nation status with the U.S. federal government) Native tribes, nations and villages in the United States. This does not include state recognized tribes, or those in the process of recognition with states or the federal government. In addition to these, there are over 500,000 people of primarily Native blood who are ineligible for tribal membership for one reason or another. Add these to the numbers of indigenous people from Central and South America and Canada, and one gains a picture of the complexity of cultures and backgrounds that represent Native people in the United States and The United Methodist Church.

Most tribes still retain unique language, culture, religions, government and a physical tribal home. Some have lost original languages and many customs, but have retained a sense of identity as a people. There is simply no one "Indian" way of thinking, feeling, or worshipping. In order to become aware of Native people, one must be intentional in the process of ministering to them.

Native American Ministries Sunday affords the opportunity of Native and non-Native United Methodists across the denomination to become aware of the lives, gifts and ministries of Native people. Conferences are encouraged to develop ministries for and with the Native people who live within them.This special Sunday also allows Native people the opportunity to fully participate in the life of the conference. They cannot do that unless we, the Church, know who they are.

Proceeds from Native American Ministries Sunday offerings support Native ministries within conferences, provide educational assistance for Native Americans in the form of scholarships, and assist with the establishment of urban Native ministries.

Consider making a special gift to Native American Indians. One way is to give to the Native American Comprehensive Plan Advance #982615. You may give online.

SOME LEGISLATION THAT NEEDS OUR ATTENTION!

This handout discusses briefly three issues currently being considered in our Texas Legislature. The UMW has discussed one--truancy--and we strongly support reform that would change our current process. I bring the other two issues to your attention for your consideration.  (Two-columns, back-to-back.)

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UNITED METHODIST WOMEN

OF TEXAS

SOME OF THE LEGISLATION

THAT NEEDS OUR ATTENTION

1.Sen. John Whitmire (who has spoken in our Legislative Event) has put forth a Criminal Justice omnibus reform bill that addresses the current school-to-prison path inherent in our truancy laws.

            Currently Texas hands the vast majority of its truancy cases as class C misdemeanors in ADULT CRIMINAL COURT! Convictions can carry a minimum fine of $500 and become part of a permanent, public ADULT CRIMINAL RECORD!

            The Dallas Morning News put it well in the April 6 paper: “Texas needs its kids in classrooms, not courtrooms. Reforming Texas truancy laws is an important step toward that goal.”

            The bill has been sent to the full Senate, so now is the time to contact your senator and urge support of the bill!

2.In-state tuition. We currently have a law that allows in-state tuition for some children in the U.S. illegally. This law sailed through the Legislature in 2001 with bipartisan support. However, the Senate may receive shortly a bill that would repeal the law. Although it isn’t on the Senate floor yet, you may want to contact your senator about this bill.

3.Campus carry. This bill would allow license holders to carry concealed weapons into university buildings and classrooms. Top university leaders statewide have spoken against the bill, and we’ve seen and heard a good bit about it this spring. The Senate has passed the bill; it cleared a House committee last week, and it could go to the floor soon. This is another issue you may want to bring to your representative’s attention right away.

CONTACTING YOUR STATE LEGISLATOR IS TRULY EASY!

Simply type “Texas legislature” in your browser window.

Select the blue link “Texas Legislature Online.”

This brings you LOTS of options with a great deal of  really good information.

For purposes of contact:

Highlight the link for “Members” under the house you want.

That link will take you to an alphabetical listing of the names of all the representatives or senators.

Highlight the name you want in that list, and the link will take you to a page with phone numbers. It also has a link “Visit Home Page…” which offers an e-mail option.

It really is easy. And everytime you use it, you get better at it!

There are about 65 days left of the regular session, so we need to let our legislators know our thinking on the issues they are considering.