31 states gives rapists custody and paternal rights, Virginia is one of them. Here is how we change that -
I want to focus on Virginia because the entire House of Delegates is up for election. While there is only a remote chance that the Democrats could retake control of the House, we can use this election to raise awareness to end at least this most abusive law.
Step one: contact your member of the House of Delegates and ask them where they stand on this issue, do they think that rapists should have custody and visitation rights? (If you do not know who your delegate is, you can find them here.)
Step two:
Based on their response, write a letter to the editor to your community newspaper. For example: I was horrified when I recently learned that Virginia was one of the 31 states that give rapists custody and visitation rights. I was pleased to learn that Delegate [delegate's name] opposes this and plans to vote for its repeal. I hope that it will be the pleasure of the voters to re-elect Delegate [delegate's name]. Alternatively: I was horrified when I recently learned that Virginia was one of the 31 states that give rapists custody and visitation rights. I was still more horrified to learn that Delegate [delegate's name] supports this cruel practice. I hope that it will be the pleasure of the voters to replace [delegate's name] with [opponent's name].
This achieves several things. First of all editors are human, if they start getting letters on this subject, it will affect their editorial decisions. Even if your letter is never published, it will have an impact. If your letter is published many voters will see it. They will learn that Virginia has such a cruel law and what their delegate thinks of it. Assuming that your community newspaper has an online edition, you can share your letter to the editor online, increasing its impact. Lastly, politicians have Google alerts on their names just like the rest of us. They will see your letter and realize that this is a hot issue.
In my book, The precinct captain's guide to political victory, I devote considerable attention to integrating press, social media, and ground operations. The three can be made to work together. If we get busy, we can use this issue to shift public opinion.