Take it to Annapolis! Citizen lobbyist packets for Raskin Syrian refugee letter available

Senator Jamie Raskin (D-20)

State senator Jamie Raskin’s letter endorsing Syrian refugee settlement is making waves in Annapolis!

Already, 18 delegates and senators — including the whole District 20 team representing Takoma Park and Silver Spring — have joined Senator Raskin to urge Governor Hogan to avoid demagoguery and follow federal law about this issue.  (Hopefully, you’ve already emailed your delegation about co-signing it!)

Now it’s time to give them a visit. The best times to pay a visit to your delegation — or other members of the General Assembly — are…

• Monday evenings, 6-8pm
• Tues-Thursday 9-10am and 11:30-1pm
• Friday 9-11am and immediately after session, usually 12-2pm

You may only find staffers; you can try to set up a face to face meeting with your delegation (usually three delegates and one senator) in advance by calling ahead.  (If you don’t know who they are, you can use this lookup system.)

Consider offering others a ride, or see if you can get a lift yourself — using the groupcarpool.com page we’ve set up for the purpose.

Before you go, you should download and print…

• “Maryland Welcomes Refugees” citizen lobbyist cover letter (1 page)
• Senator Raskin’s Syrian refugee letter (1 page)
• Attachments:
  • Howard County Council letter, 11/19/2015 (1 page)
  • Montgomery County Council letter, 11/24/2015 (3 pages)
  • ACLU/CAIR and 37 other organizations letter , 11/24/2015 (3 pages)
  • Takoma Park City Council Resolution, 11/30/2015 (2 pages)
  • Greenbelt City Council letter, 12/14/2015 (2 pages)

Assemble one packet for each legislator you intend to visit, stapling them together in the order indicated.  You should definitely plan to visit your own State senator and three delegates, if they haven’t already signed.  (Again, if you don’t know who they are, you can use this lookup system.)

Drop by the Raskin office (Room 122, James Senate Office Building, 11 Bladen Street, Annapolis) before you get started, so you can hang up your coat and put away your other items before you hit the hallways.

If you go, snap some pictures and share them and your stories with us here or over at the “Maryland Welcomes Refugees” web site, md4refugees.org.  Thanks!