We have been hearing a lot lately about police shootings of unarmed young African American men, and many member of AFM have been working on another aspect of our criminal justice system: the excess incarceration of people for minor offenses, with the black community being hit disproportionately hard. The Annapolis Peace and Justice Center was central to forming the Maryland Alliance for Justice Reform (MAJR) to work for legislative solutions to this problem and in the process to increase public safety by not sending young minor offenders to prison to live with hardened criminals and learn their ways.
We want to encourage you to participate in a Lobby Training for Maryland Incarceration Reform, hosted by this Saturday at the meetinghouse, beginning at 9:00 AM, as described more fully below.
Members of MAJR’s steering committee are already making contacts with legislators about our set of bills on justice reform. The next step is to train a large number of people from throughout the state to lobby when the 2015 legislative session begins on January 14. We need to show our legislators that Marylanders really want reform.
After the bills are assigned to committees, it is appropriate for anyone to urge committee members to support them. Then, when the bills go to the floor of the Senate or House of Delegates, it is best if citizens contact their own legislators.
Which brings us to the training we are offering you this coming Saturday, December 13, from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Annapolis Friends Meeting, 351 Dubois Road, Annapolis 21401.
What will you learn?
- First, there will be a review of the steps involved in passing a bill into law.
- You will learn how and when to lobby legislators (whether in person or by phone or email).
- You will hear a presentation on the bills and their significance.
- You will watch an enactment of a typical lobbying session.
- You will roll play lobbying a legislator in a small group of about four people.
- Finally, there will be time for questions and discussion.
Experienced lobbyists keep telling me that lobbying isn’t really hard. You are not expected to have all the answers (you can always say, “Someone will get back to you on that.”) Rather, what moves our senators and delegates is seeing how much we care about the issues. For those making in-person lobbying visits, you will be encouraged to go in small groups rather than alone.
Please attend this training session next Saturday. And invite anyone you know who might be interested.
Thank you!
Pat Schenck
Member, MAJR Steering Committee
