A big thank you to the carloads of BlueWaveNJ members who joined busloads of gun safety advocates to travel to Trenton Tuesday for a packed public hearing on a set of bills aimed to reduce gun violence and strengthen NJ’s current gun laws.

Despite frequent hostile interruptions by gun rights advocates, dialogue, not diatribe, won the day. Following the hearing, the NJ Senate Law and Public Safety Committee approved seven new gun control measures by a vote of 3-1. The bills are now sent to the Budget Committee before they can receive a full vote in the Senate. At the center of the new package is bill S-2723 requiring instant background checks and revoking firearm permits to anyone convicted of any crime.

It was a good day, but our work is far from over.

During her two-minute testimony, BlueWaveNJ President Marcia Marley delivered a petition to the committee with over 1,700 names urging the Senators to include a provision that lowers the capacity of ammunition magazines from 15 to 10. The 10-round limit was passed by the NJ Assembly in February, but is not included in the current package. Several of our neighboring states, including NJ, CT and MD have already taken this important step, laying the foundation for a new national standard that NJ should be   part of.

The 10 round limit is an important and necessary addition to ensure that New Jersey  maintains our position as a national leader in gun safety laws. In several recent mass shootings, lives were saved when the shooter had to stop and reload.  In fact:

• several children were able to escape from a classroom in CT when the shooter stopped to change magazines.
• Christina Taylor Green, the 8 year old girl killed in the Tucson shooting that wounded Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, was killed by the 13^th bullet from the shooters gun.

Before the hearings, Marcia Marley attended a moving and often-tearful press conference at the Statehouse. Members of the NJ Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence and state leaders were joined by several Newtown, CT family members, who spoke in support of the 10-bullet magazine limit.

“I ask myself every day, every minute, if those magazines had held 10 rounds instead of 30, forcing the shooter to reload many more times, would my son still be alive today,” said Nicole Hockley, whose son Dylan, 6, was killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings.

Our voices are needed more than ever on this critical issue.

Here’s is what you can do today:

•  Sign the coalition petition urging the NJ Senate to include the provision that would reduce the legal capacity of ammunition magazines from 15 to 10.
•   Call on the Senators on the Law and Public Safety Committee to support this commonsense measure that can and WILL save NJ lives.
• Spread the message.  Forward this information on to others and ask for their participation. Forward the petition link and ask friends and family members to join you in calling for the 10 round magazine limit. Be sure to ask them to pass it on as well. Find out if they are willing to make calls, and send them the information to make it easy for the to help.

Contact us for more ways to help, or join our Rapid Response Action Team. If you can spare an hour of you time as needed, we’ll let you know when we have an urgent need for calls. Contact us at bluewavenj2012@gmail.com

 

Cantor allowed VAWA to lapse last year and still hasn’t brought it up for a vote this year.

This Sunday, Cantor was on ‘Meet the Press’ to rebrand the Republican Party — while at the same time holding VAWA hostage. Denying legal protections to victims of domestic abuse is certainly not “caring.”

Show them we won’t fall for it: after 127,000 called out Eric Cantor for blocking the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) last week, he rushed to the House floor to declare that he cares “very deeply about women.” Help reach 250,000 signatures this week:

Sign the petition to tell House Republicans to stop blocking the Violence Against Women Act. 

Saturday January 26 was a freezing cold day, but that didn’t stop about several hundred citizens from gathering in Lincoln Park in Jersey City to hear elected officials and others talk about sensible gun laws.

BlueWaveNJ President Marcia Marely was among the speakers and “passionately addressed the rally on the long struggle for sensible gun reform. Her call to “Let’s make this happen!” energized the crowd” as described by Kristen Wald in her coverage of the event for Barista.net. BlueWaveNJ partnered with North Jersey Cease Fire to hire a bus to bring rally-goers to Jersey City for the event.

Rallies were held in Boston, Chicago and Washington, D.C., Saturday where thousands of people, many holding signs with names of gun violence victims and messages such as “Ban Assault Weapons Now,” gathered in front of the Capitol.

Check out some of the great media coverage received on the Jersey City Rally:

http://www.baristanet.com/2013/01/montclair-braves-the-cold-for-gun-control/

http://www.bluejersey.com/diary/22419/rally-for-gun-control-in-jersey-city

http://www.deciminyan.org/2013/01/one-million-moms-for-gun-control-rally.html

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2013/01/democrats_hundreds_of_supporte.html

Join BlueWaveNJ and North Jersey Ceasefire as we head to Jersey City this Saturday, January 26th as we demand action.

BlueWaveNJ and North Jersey Cease Fire will join a local chapter of One Million Moms 4 Gun Control who has partnered with the Jersey City Mayor to hold a Jersey Strong Rally in Lincoln Park, Jersey City (West Side & Belmont Avenues), from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

BlueWaveNJ and North Jersey Cease Fire have hired a bus to take supporters to the rally. The bus will depart from Montclair High School, (Midland Ave.), at 9:30 a.m. and people will be asked to make a small donation of $10 to $15 to defray the cost of the transportation. Coffee and bagels will be provided. To reserve a seat , sign up HERE or for more info contact Ed Remsen at Remsen_wiley@verizon.net

HOW TO TALK ABOUT GUN VIOLENCE
By Cindy Schweich Handler

If there’s one thing about the gun debate that everyone seems to agree on, it’s that we’re going to have a national conversation on the subject. Great news! I’ve been a gun control advocate for 30-plus years, and believe me; it’s lonely. I’d love to have a meaningful dialogue on the subject right now, because those who’re opposed to change count on the majority who want it to move on with their lives and forget. But the ultimate goal has to be consensus, and action. With that in mind, I humbly offer this Gun Conversation Primer:
– First and foremost: Don’t waste your breath on the unpersuadable. Even NRA President David Keene recognizes that the White House just had him over to be polite. Leaders of the gun lobbying group, which constitute roughly 1.3 percent of all Americans, truly believe that they’re going to die if they can’t have access to all guns at all times in all places, and until now, the depth of their passionate paranoia has more than compensated for their limited numbers. You can’t argue with their magical thinking; the last time I wrote about gun control, I heard from a number of them, and they made comments along the lines of “If I’d been in that darkened, teargas-filled, panic-stricken Aurora movie theater being sprayed with bullets, I would have nailed that shooter from the back row.” Ignore these people, and save the conversation for the majority of Americans who want common-sense solutions like universal background checks and a ban on assault weapons. You’ll recognize reasonable people by the way they don’t yell or get red in the face when they talk about guns.
–Stop parroted nonsense in its tracks. So much of it has been reflexively repeated over the years that it can be taken as gospel, and the antidote is a quick, proactive Google search. For example, the NRA’s Wayne LaPierre pithily announced that “The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.” But, as the New York Times recently noted, “In the 62 mass-murder cases over 30 years examined recently by the magazine Mother Jones, not one was stopped by an armed civilian.” Or if your conversational partner says that the Second Amendment disallows regulation, you can refer him to Justice Antonin Scalia’s decision in District of Columbia v. Heller, in which he states that like most rights, the right to bear arms is not unlimited. If the default response to every fact you cite is “That’s why we need more guns,” you’re talking to a true believer (see above) and you’re wasting your time.
–Recognize when someone tries to change the subject. Who can argue with statements like “First we need to do something about mental health,” or “The culture needs to change,” or “Parents need to act like parents”? They’re all true, but that’s not what you’re talking about. If you were discussing drunken driving and someone said “Yes, but we need to design safer cars,” you’d know a non-sequitur when you heard one.
–Get off the defensive. It’s easy to get in that position when you’re speaking to someone who’s emotional about not changing the status quo. Ask him to explain why civilians should have assault weapons, and why they should be able to buy them without background checks. Other countries have experienced mass murders with guns and done something about it; what’s different about us that we can’t, too?
–Talk to legislators about what they need to buck the NRA. As a piece on Salon.com pointed out, their candidates lost big in 2012; the organization had a less than one percent return on its more than $11 million investment. But money’s not everything; their fear motivates them enough to make life a living hell for anyone who stands in their way. Your representatives need to know that they won’t lose their jobs over this issue, so write to them pledging your continued help, as the NRA sets their sights on them . There are plenty of members of Congress who need to take long showers after dealing with gun lobbyists. Let’s identify them and let them know we vote on this. Because what more powerful form of speech do we have than that?

Last week, I wrote a blog post entitled “How to Talk About Gun Violence” for the Huffington Post, and it attracted a respectable number of comments, almost entirely from the all-guns-all-the-time crowd. Insights ranged from “History eludes you” to “It’s a PERSON who used the gun,” to my personal favorite, “The bed that is raised from the floor kills a lot of people a year.” At points, the responses devolved into a kind of weapon-lovers’ chat room, with posters gushing that “Those O3A3s are pretty fine rifles” and “I have them all the way from Flintlocks to Semi-auto.”
But there was one comment from this gun fan club that was genuinely useful to me. And that was, ”Ms. Handler, I was involved in the South Bay open carry group here in Los Angeles a couple of years ago. Your allies showed up 3 times over about 15 months and were outnumbered about 5 to 1 each time.” To that reader, I say thanks: You’ve made an incredibly good point. And that is, It’s the people who show up to the debate who have the conversation, and win it.
Why do surveys show that a majority of Americans support common sense gun control measures, and yet our legislators rarely pass them? The problem is that they aren’t nearly as adamant or vocal in expressing their beliefs as the people who feel viscerally threatened by these measures—like the ones who responded to an NRA plea to flood a town hall meeting in Northern California last week, or who troll the web to rail against articles supporting gun control. Maybe they have nothing else to do, but more likely it’s that fear is a powerful motivator, and they live in terror that their arsenals will be taken away. And to be fair, this is democracy in action. The squeakiest wheels/loudest voices prevail.
What I don’t understand is why the fear of losing loved ones in public places like grocery stores, movie theaters, churches and schools—any place where it’s easy to hit multiple targets by shooting off dozens of rounds per minute—isn’t equally animating. We go through the ritual of grieving, and we ask the inevitable questions about who, what, when, where and why (though there’s never an answer for that last one), yet surely no one thinks that regularly sacrificing innocents, like reenactments of the Shirley Jackson short story “The Lottery,” constitutes acceptable risk. As a nation, we’re willing to have simulated lockdowns be part of our school-going kids’ routine, and despite their usual nostalgia for a less complicated, Beaver Cleaver lifestyle, many conservatives seem fine with the idea of turning places of learning into mini prisons with armed guards. With each tragedy, a number of shattered loved ones become activists for safety, joining the world’s least desirable union. Do we continue to move on from the carnage because the power of denial is stronger than fear? After all, we all have to get up every day and re-enter the public sphere.
Mental health professionals will have to take up that one. In the meantime, wouldn’t it be better to learn from the other side? Tell your congressional representative that you vote on this issue; it’s taken as gospel that legislators are afraid of the NRA, but gun control supporters haven’t exactly provided the wind beneath their wings. Show up at silent vigils, Townhall debates and protests, such as the March on Washington for Gun Control slated for January 26. Give what money you can, and urge those with deeper pockets to give more. Just like people who love their high-capacity clips and hate background checks, we who support common sense gun control measures need to act as if our lives depend on winning this war. For thousands of Americans every year, it does.

20 DAYS-20 ACTIONS

DAY 1:  CALL SENATOR FRANK LAUTENBERG 202-224-3224

Please tell the person who answers the phone that you would like to speak with Alexis, the Senator’s staffer who handles gun violence.   Tell them you are a supporter of the New Jersey Million Mom March and that you appreciate all that Senator Lautenberg is doing to curb gun violence.

See the Senator’s press release encouraging VP Biden’s Gun Violence Task Force to include his common-sense gun safety solutions:

http://lautenberg.senate.gov/newsroom/record.cfm?id=338217

We are so fortunate that OUR Senator is a LEADER in gun violence prevention measures in Congress.  Help Senator Lautenberg send our message to congress by sending him verbal/written support of his constituents in order to back up his claims that this is what America wants.  So please take the few minutes to do this TODAY.

DAY 2: SIGN THE LETTER TO CONGRESS 

Join victims, survivors and families impacted by gun violence by signing a letter asking every member of Congress to stand with us and fight gun violence.

http://www.wearebetterthanthis.org

DAY 3: CALL VICE PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN 202-456-1111

When you call the Vice President’s office, tell them that you are a supporter of the NJ Million Mom March Chapters and that you are hoping for support his strong legislative changes to prevent further gun violence.

DAY 4: CONTACT FAMILY MEMBERS AND FRIENDS

Please take the time to get in touch with family members and friends and let them know that you are taking a stand against gun violence and invite them to join with you.  You can pass along the ACTIONS that you have taken the past few days and encourage them to do them also. Ask your friends and family to get online and SIGN every petition they can find urging Congress to act for sensible gun laws.

http://www.wearebetterthanthis.org

DAY 5: REACH OUT TO THE FAITH COMMUNITY

The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence and leaders from multiple religious groups have launched a national effort to mobilize the faith community to support policies to fight gun violence.

IF you have a religious affiliation and plan on attending services this weekend, you can personally deliver this message.   Look over the web site and download any materials you would like to take with you.  You will find a news release announcing the coalition; a national resolution they can be asked to sign and fax; a list of participating organizations.

If services are not on your schedule, please consider checking the internet for the email addresses for ANY faith communities in your area.  You can then send them the link and encourage them to get involved.

Visit: http://www.bradycenter.org/advocates/faith

DAY 6: BE THE ONE MILLIONTH to DEMAND A PLAN

Since the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, over 925,000 people have signed the Demand A Plan petition.  YOU could be the 1,000,000th.  The Mayors Against Illegal Guns (MAIG) asks you and your friends and family to join a million fellow Americans and Demand A Plan to end gun violence?  Here’s how:

▪       Forward this email and ask your friend to sign the petition http://DemandAPlan.org/SandyHook

▪       Share the Demand A Plan petition on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.demandaplan.org%2Fsandyhook

▪       Tweet about Demand A Plan on Twitter https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?status=One+Million+for+%23Newtown:+Tell+Congress+that+you+%23DemandAPlan+to+end+gun+violence+in+America:+http://demandaplan.org/sandyhook&url=http://demandaplan.org/sandyhook

DAY 7: CALL REPRESENTATIVE RUSH HOLT

On January 3, Rush Holt, House Representative of the 12th District, took the oath of office as a member of the 113th Congress of the United States.  On the first day of Congress, he introduced the Handgun Licensing and Registration Act.

http://beta.congress.gov/bill/113th-congress/house-bill/117/text

If you live in a different district, please ALSO contact YOUR Congressional Representative and encourage them to become a co-sponsor of H.R. 117 -Handgun Licensing and Registration Act of 2013.

http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/

PLEASE call Representative Holt’s office to thank him for his continuing effort in preventing gun violence. 202-225-5801

DAY 8: CALL PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA 202-456-1111

Ask him you support common sense gun legislation.

DAY 9: MICHELLE OBAMA 202-456-1111

Call the FLOTUS and ask her to “PLEASE ask the President to PROMISE HE WILL CONTINUE FIGHTING FOR SENSIBLE GUN LAWS.”

DAY 10: CALL HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE CHAIR 202-225-5431

Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), the incoming chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, which oversees gun laws, told Roll Call last month. “… Gun control is not going to be something that I would support.”

We need to CALL HIM and let him know the NJ Million Mom March Chapters of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence hope he did not mean what he said and that he WILL put the public safety of Americans ahead of the narrow interests of the gun lobby and support common-sense measures such as requiring universal background checks on all gun sales and a ban on assault weapons and high capacity magazines.

DAY 11: EVERY SINGLE DAY IS CELEBRATE CHILD APPRECIATION DAY

Instead of Gun Appreciation Day, celebrate CHILD APPRECIATION DAY.

Click on the following links to find out how other gun violence prevention organization are celebrating!

Parents Against Gun Violence

http://www.parentsagainstgunviolence.com

Child Appreciation Day

http://www.parentsagainstgunviolence.com/child-appreciation-day/

DAY 12: ANOTHER OUTREACH DAY TO FAMILY MEMBERS, FRIENDS, AND OTHER ORGANIZATIONS           

How about walking over to your friendly neighbors’ houses to let them know the stand you are taking against gun violence.  If you don’t want to go outdoors try calling.

DAY 13: STAY IN TOUCH WITH US

I would like to ask those of you who did NOT fill in and return the contact form to do so now.  IF you don’t have time to give me your contact information, I fear you will not have the time required to move forward in this effort.

FULL NAME:

ADDRESS:

(Zip code is very important)

EMAIL:

HOME PHONE:

CELL PHONE:

FAX (if you have one):

CONGRESSIONAL REPRESENTATIVE:

(If you know it fine; if not, you can look it up or we can help you with that.  But this will be important for future ACTIONS)

COMMENTS:

(IF you would like to tell us why/how you originally got involved, that would be welcomed.  We also would like to hear if you have had personal experience with gun violence, either as a survivor or friend/relative of a victim)

DAY 14: JOIN “ORGANIZING FOR ACTION”          

President Obama is empowering US to get things done.  I recommend that you sign up with ORGANIZE FOR ACTION.

http://my.barackobama.com/Organizing-for-Action

DAY 15: SIGN THIS “GUN CONTROL. NOW.” PETITION

Million Mom March/Brady Campaign Chapters across the country are urging people to read the Background and then sign this Petition: http://signon.org/sign/gun-control-now-1

After you sign the petition, please encourage family members/friends to also sign.  They can look for a local Chapter at this site:

<http://www.bradycampaign.org/chapters>.

DAY 16:  READING ASSIGNMENT        

As most of you already know, the gun bills that will need to receive the approval of Congress are really facing an uphill battle.  Someone asked Vice President Biden on the Fireside Hangout session “how we ever got to this place” where the gun lobby is holding the rest of the American population hostage.  Regardless of how we got here, NOW is the time to GET OUT.

Here is what legislators, law enforcement, and victims are saying— that it is up to US to take ACTION.

Rep. McCarthy: Yes, we can do this.  Please.  Be out there for us!

Sen. Durbin: We can only do as much as the American people will do.  They must speak up.  We need responsible hunters to step up.  

Rep. Blumenthal:  Sustain this momentum through hard fight.  

Sen. Murphy:  ’This is just a feel-good piece of legislation.’  They are right.  We WOULD feel good if [listed children's names] could have celebrated Christmas, been able to go to school, were alive today… It WOULD feel good if parents all across this country didn’t have to wake up every morning worrying that without ACTION that their kids were at risk just like those kids in Newtown.  This is going to be hard, this is going to be difficult.  But to honor those 20 lives and 6 more in Newtown, we ARE going to get it done.  In a letter, families of Aroura victims quoted MLK:  ”Our lives begin to end the day we remain silent on things that matter.”  Our future, our lives, our children matter.  Rep. Esty: What happened in Newtown is an unspeakable tragedy; but what happens now is up to us.  Newtown has and is paying the price of inaction.  It is not just our battle — it is America’s battle.  I hope, I pray, and I believe that this horror in a little town of Newtown, CT, is our wake-up call.  It is our call as Americans to act and to act now to save lives.

Sen. Feinstein: If anyone asks today “Can you win this?” the answer is “We don’t know; it is so uphill.”  There IS one great hope out there, and that is you.  Because you are stronger than the gun lobby and you are stronger than the gun manufacturer.  But only if you stand up, if America rises up.  If people care enough to call every member of the House, every member of the Senate, and say we have had enough.  These weapons do not belong on the streets of our towns, our cities, in our schools, in our malls, in our workplaces, in our movie theaters.  Enough is enough.  We CAN win this.  But it depends on America and it depends on the courage of Americans.

NJ MMM (not at press conference!):  Are YOU courageous?  Are YOU willing to stand up?  Are YOU ready to FEEL GOOD?  Rest up tonight, because tomorrow we will hit the road running.

DAY 17:  MAKE LEGISLATIVE AND FAMILY/FRIEND CALLS

On January 25^th, the first day for bills to be introduced in the 113th Congress, U.S. Senator Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) introduced several bills including his bill to ban high-capacity ammunition magazines holding more than 10 rounds.  Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY) also introduced several gun-related bills.

You can go onto thomas.loc.gov and, using the bill numbers, find out all the information you want.  No bill number had been assigned to Feinstein’s Assault Weapons Ban of 2013 as of this writing, but you can use the Word/Phrase search provision to obtain that tomorrow.  Reps. McCarthy and Perlmutter will be introducing a similar bill in the House.  Please call these legislators’ offices and THANK THEM.  (See DAY 7 for link to Representatives’ contact info)

ANY time you have over the next few weeks should be spent making calls, as Sen. Feinstein said, to EVERY member of the House and the Senate.  You should spend time soliciting help from your family members and friends.  The more Americans involved in this process, the better chance we have.   From the bills’ web sites, you will be able to not only find who sponsored each bill, but who HASN’T co-sponsored the bills.  If you know people in NJ or another state where it is not yet co-sponsored, please get in touch and ask them to make THE CALL.  Remember, it is important to make calls to THANK the sponsors and co-sponsors as much as it is to ENCOURAGE the others to do so.

DAY 18: CONTACT YOUR NJ ASSEMBLY MEMBERS AND TELL THEM TO SUPPORT BILLS THAT ARE UP FOR A VOTE.  THEIR CONTACT INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND BELOW.   

Background: On Wednesday February 13, the New Jersey Assembly’s Law & Public Safety Committee voted in favor of 20 proposals for reducing gun violence in the state, doing so over the objections of the many vocal gun rights advocates and NRA supporters in attendance.

It is unprecedented for this many gun violence prevention bills to be moved ahead so quickly.

For these bills to pass on Thursday, February 21, it is essential for each and every one of us to contact our representatives in the NJ State Assembly - their information is listed below. We must let them know that there is support for the bold action they are taking and that the vocal opponents do not represent majority opinion in New Jersey. We have an amazing opportunity to move NJ far along the road to greater safety from gun violence, but we must resolve to do all we can right now to get these bills passed.

Contact your assembly person to express your support of these bills. It is crucial to take action now, via emails, phone calls, or by travelling to Trenton Thursday to show your support in person.  Don’t let the angry demonstrators last week be the only voices our legislators hear - hundreds of gun activists are showing up at hearings everywhere, and we need to show that they do not reflect majority opinion.

Your Assembly people are the ones who will be voting on Thursday, but your state Senators also need to hear from you. Montclair is District #34; if you are not sure who to contact, check here:

http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/districts/municipalities.asp

DISTRICT 26 (Parts of Essex, Morris and Passaic Counties)

SENATOR JOSEPH PENNACCHIO Phone:  973-227-4012

ASSEMBLYWOMAN BETTYLOU DECROCE Phone:  973-265-0057

ASSEMBLYMAN JAY WEBBER Phone: 973-265-0057

DISTRICT 27 (Parts of Essex and Morris Counties)

SENATOR RICHARD J. CODEY Phone: 973-535-5017

ASSEMBLYWOMAN MILA M. JASEY 
Phone: 973-762-1886

ASSEMBLYMAN JOHN F. MCKEON 
Phone: 973-377-1606

DISTRICT 28 (Part of Essex County)

SENATOR RONALD L. RICE 
Phone: 973-371-5665

ASSEMBLYMAN RALPH R. CAPUTO
 Phone: 973-450-0484

ASSEMBLYWOMAN CLEOPATRA G. TUCKER
 Phone: 973-926-4320

DISTRICT 29 (Part of Essex County)

SENATOR M. TERESA RUIZ
 Phone: 973-484-1000

ASSEMBLYMAN ALBERT COUTINHO
 Phone: 973-589-0713

ASSEMBLYWOMAN L. GRACE SPENCER
 Phone: 973-624-1730

DISTRICT 30 (Parts of Monmouth and Ocean Counties)

SENATOR ROBERT W. SINGER 
Phone: 732-987-5669

ASSEMBLYMAN SEAN T. KEAN
 Phone: 732-974-0400

ASSEMBLYMAN DAVID P. RIBLE
 Phone: 732-974-0400

DISTRICT 31 (Part of Hudson County)

SENATOR SANDRA B. CUNNINGHAM
 Phone: 201-451-5100

ASSEMBLYMAN CHARLES MAINOR
 Phone: 201-536-7851

ASSEMBLYMAN JASON O’DONNELL 
Phone: 201-436-0961

DISTRICT 32 (Parts of Bergen and Hudson Counties)

SENATOR NICHOLAS J. SACCO
 Phone: 201-295-0200

ASSEMBLYWOMAN ANGELICA M. JIMENEZ 
Phone: 201-223-4247

ASSEMBLYMAN VINCENT PRIETO 
Phone: 201-770-1303

DISTRICT 33 (Part of Hudson County)

SENATOR BRIAN P. STACK 
Phone: 201-721-5263

ASSEMBLYMAN SEAN CONNORS 
Phone: 201-795-9190

ASSEMBLYMAN RUBEN J. RAMOS, JR. 
Phone: 201-714-4960

DISTRICT 34 (Parts of Essex and Passaic Counties)

SENATOR NIA H. GILL (Esq.)
 Phone: 973-509-0388

ASSEMBLYMAN THOMAS P. GIBLIN
 Phone: 973-779-3125

ASSEMBLYWOMAN SHEILA Y. OLIVER Phone: 973-395-1166

DISTRICT 35 (Parts of Bergen and Passaic Counties)

SENATOR NELLIE POU
P hone: 973-247-1555

ASSEMBLYWOMAN SHAVONDA E. SUMTER
 Phone: 973-925-7061

ASSEMBLYMAN BENJIE E. WIMBERLY
 Phone: 973-925-7061

DISTRICT 36 (Parts of Bergen and Passaic Counties)

SENATOR PAUL A. SARLO
 Phone: 201-804-8118

ASSEMBLYWOMAN MARLENE CARIDE
 Phone: 201-943-0615

ASSEMBLYMAN GARY S. SCHAER 
Phone: 973-249-3665

DISTRICT 37 (Part of Bergen County)

SENATOR LORETTA WEINBERG
 Phone: 201-928-0100

ASSEMBLYMAN GORDON M. JOHNSON
 Phone: 201-530-0469

ASSEMBLYWOMAN VALERIE VAINIERI HUTTLE
P hone: 201-541-1118

DISTRICT 38 (Parts of Bergen and Passaic Counties)

SENATOR ROBERT M. GORDON
 Phone: 201-703-9779

ASSEMBLYMAN TIMOTHY J. EUSTACE
 Phone: 201-576-9199

ASSEMBLYWOMAN CONNIE WAGNER 
Phone: 201-576-9199

DISTRICT 39 (Parts of Bergen and Passaic Counties)

SENATOR GERALD CARDINALE (D.D.S.)
 Phone: 201-567-2324

ASSEMBLYWOMAN HOLLY T. SCHEPISI
 Phone: 201-666-0881

ASSEMBLYMAN ROBERT SCHROEDER
 Phone: 201-391-3672

DISTRICT 40 (Parts of Bergen, Essex, Morris and Passaic Counties)

SENATOR KEVIN J. O’TOOLE
 Phone: 973-237-1360

ASSEMBLYMAN SCOTT T. RUMANA
 Phone: 973-237-1362

ASSEMBLYMAN DAVID C. RUSSO
 Phone: 201-444-9719

DAY 19:  TELL THE PRESIDENT:  REDUCING GUN VIOLENCE IS YOUR NUMBER ONE PRIORITY

President Obama’s incredible inaugural address laid out several bold goals for the next four years.  NOW, he needs to know what issues are most important to us—so he can tackle those first. Tell President Obama your number one priority! Make your voice heard right away:

Reducing Gun Violence

Defending Equal Rights

Protecting Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security

Solving the Climate Change Crisis

Growing the Economy and Jobs

DAY 20:  MAKE A PROMISE, MAKE IT A GOOD ONE!

Make a promise to continue to contact our federal legislators EVERY day until we see some action on the gun violence prevention issues.  Make a promise to reach out to others to do the same.  You have enough “ammunition” of your own by now to be able to do this confidently.  You can check over the ACTIONS for DAYS 1-19 and find phone numbers and web sites to refresh your memory.  We are not done, by a long shot.  (Isn’t it terrible how many references to guns we use in our everyday language?  Ammunition. Shot.  sigh)  But for today, just MAKE A PROMISE.

THIS WEEK our Congressional Representatives are in their home districts.  If you have the time, make an appointment to visit with them and urge them to support the President’s measures.  Encourage them to co-sponsor and vote for the bills that have already been introduced.  Some may be holding Town Hall meetings.  If you can attend one of these, I will gladly send you some pointers on speaking up at such a meeting.  Just let me know who is holding the meeting, where and when it is taking place, and request the pointers.  Time permitting, I will let you know the voting record of the legislator you are visiting and other pertinent information that I may have. For example:

Congressman Leonard Lance:  Milburn Town Hall on February 7th, 2013 from 12:00PM to 2:00PM to answer constituents’ questions.  Congressman Lance will be located in the conference room on the 2nd floor of Town Hall.

It appears his interest lies in the mental health aspect of the CT tragedy:

http://lance.house.gov/press-releases/lances-energy-commerce-committee-will-take-lead-role-in-examining-mental-health-issues-in-the-wake-of-newtown-tragedy/

But to see why we MUST make progress on the gun violence issue, just take a look at this article from the New York Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/27/us/selling-a-new-generation-on-guns.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1

Together we CAN make a difference!    

Carole Stiller

NJ Million Mom March