KenAnderson

That was an excellent article, and a good example of a well-written, effective letter. Of course, individually authored letters are generally more effective, so it's a good idea to change it up some. Unfortunately, as another commenter has mentioned, too often is seem that our legislators, or their staff, don't even bother to read the letter. I have received canned responses from legislators thanking me for supporting a position that had taken, even though my letter was clearly in opposition to that position. It can be frustrating and, admittedly, most legislators are not particularly interested in representing the positions of their constituents, except for verbiage in an election year. This isn't true of all, however; and when opinions are strong in favor or opposition of one position or another, they can sometimes be persuaded (intimidated) into doing the right thing. A quick, easy, guide finding your federal legislators can be found, either by clicking on the interactive map, the list of states below, or by zip code, on the Citizen Legislator site. Similar sites are available for most state legislators as well. Usually, with the exception, perhaps, of some state legislators, your congress or senate representative is unlikely to read your letter personally. Rather, their staff will compile a list of contacts regarding a specific issue, along with the positions that they are encouraging on a specific issue. These lists are not generally scanned for duplicates so, when something is coming up that you have a strong opinion about, don't be afraid to contact your representative more than once. I have, on occasion, called each of their local offices, as well as their Washington, D.C. office, and have also sent emails, written a letter, and sent a fax, not all on the same day, of course.

I had looked into both these a few years back but was under the impression, at least then, that they were not approved programs. Does this differ from state to state or are they more accepted now than they used to be? I was in Texas then, but am in Maine now.