If you agree with President Obama that it was "shameful" when the U.S. Senate refused to pass Universal Background Checks you need to SPEAK UP! This means finding out where your Senator will have their next public appearance and be there. Be visible (having a 12' banner helps) and be vocal.
I managed to find out where Ohio Senator Rob Portman would be on this Memorial Day holiday. It took numerous calls to his D.C. office, offices in Cincinnati, Columbus, and Cleveland. Since he would be walking in the Cuyahoga Falls parade which is only 4 hours from my house I knew where I had to be.
I positioned myself along the parade route near the starting point. Imagine my surprise when a large contingent of Portman supporters appeared 50' away from me! Apparently Senator Portman was joining the parade right near my location. Holding my 12' x 4' banner high as he approached I called out "Senator." He looked at me with my sign and came walking up. We had a polite conversation where I urged him to reconsider his vote. He said his main concern was with private gun sales between individuals. I believe that can be addressed when the bill comes up for a vote again.
Anyone voting against the Manchin-Toomey bill was also voting against background checks for Internet gun sales. Incredible! No place is more anonymous than the internet. That is where angry spouses have bought guns to kill their estranged partner. Countless gun crimes have occurred with these weapons. There is NO reason to continue this.
I had planned on being in the parade with the Summit county Democratic party. When I met them early this morning they told me that a person had to "register" to be in the parade and that their sign had to be "approved." Well I did not drive 4 hours just to have a chat with Rob Portman.
So, I seized the opportunity and joined marching by at an opportune moment. If I were told to leave I would have. I had no problem. On the 1.8 mile parade route that was lined with people I was pleasantly surprised how many people cheered me on as I walked by with my oversized banner. When they did I called out "Call Senator Portman's Office."
There will be another vote on this common sense gun bill. With 90% public support it will pass. The only question is how many more needless gun deaths will there be before it does?
We must ALL do this in our communities. When your Senator is home on recess go to their town halls, make signs and be visible. You know that the gun rights people are vocal and get in our legislator's faces. In Michigan they carried their AR-15's right into the state capitol. Gee, that wasn't meant to intimidate.
I am determined to carry on with this fight. If it goes into 2016 we can and will defeat Senator Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, Senator Johnson of Wisconsin and Senator Portman of Ohio. It was good of him to stop and talk with me. But what I really want is his vote to help stop the carnage. If he won't do that I want him replaced.