Our Hen House

Something New for 2012: Help Change the Law!

Posted on 05. Jan, 2012 by Sally Tamarkin in Grazing in the Grassroots, Legal Eagles, The Gay Animal

I never make New Year’s resolutions. Not because I don’t believe in them, or have some strong opinion about whether or not they’re worth my time. I sort of just always… forget. Or I don’t get around to it. Or something. But after reading this week’s inspiring Our Hen House posts, regarding ideas for stepping up our changemaking in 2012, I’ve decided that I am going to rise to the occasion and make this year all about the kind of activism nearest and dearest to my heart: policy advocacy. While my younger, much less risk-averse self was definitely into protests, civil disobedience, and taunting authority figures until it seemed likely that I’d be arrested, in 2010 and 2011, I found myself being lured by another advocacy tactic: I fell in love with the legislative process.

During that time, I was the lead organizer and coordinator of a coalition called ctEQUALITY. We were a group of over 40 organizations who were leading a campaign to pass a transgender non-discrimination bill in Connecticut. The coalition had been at it for several years — the bill had been raised repeatedly and died at some point during the legislative session each time — but we felt like 2011 was our year. And it was.

Change the world for animals... through legislation.

In October 2011, Connecticut became the 15th state to include gender identity and gender expression in its non-discrimination laws. This was a hard-earned, satisfying, and important victory. One of things that made it so meaningful was the number of people — everyday Connecticut folks — who got involved in our effort by talking to their legislators about why our bill was so important to them, their families, and their communities. And the legislators listened. There is little I’ve experienced that is as rewarding as watching a legislator stand up during a vote and, in remarks to her colleagues about why she will support your bill, reference a meeting with a constituent that educated her on our issue, thereby persuading her to cast a vote in our favor. Call me a nerd, but democracy in action is pretty darn cool.

Over the course of 2010 and 2011, I evolved into a brazen advocate. While I was once shy about even talking to my state senator’s aide over the phone, I turned into a loudmouth who wouldn’t hesitate to tap a legislator on the shoulder while in line at the Legislative Office Building’s cafeteria. I knew my issue and talking points so well that I actually relished any opportunity I had to make a case for my bill.

Now that I am almost six months vegan (5 months and 23 days, to be exact), I am itching to use my passion for legislative advocacy to change the world for animals. I’ve read about the changes that can be made at the state level, whether through ballot initiatives, like California’s Prop 2, also known as the Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act, which prospectively eliminates veal crates, gestation crates, and battery cages, or through the legislature, like Oregon’s SB 616, which, when it was signed into law this past June, allowed judges to include companion animals when protecting domestic abuse survivors via restraining orders. These are just two examples of successful state laws passed for animals.

However, while it’s clear that my interest in animal rights can be easily funneled into legislative advocacy, I have been pretty intimidated at the thought of going there because I’ve only ever really talked to people I know about my veganism, and about my interest in animal protection.

Then something dawned on me. Legislators are people I know. They’re my neighbors, people I follow on Twitter, my Facebook friends, the folks I run into at the farmers’ market. I must’ve made this same point a bazillion time when I was trying to persuade ctEQUALITY’s prospective volunteers and citizen activists to reach out to their legislators. If I can articulate to a peer, colleague or neighbor why a certain issue is important to me and my community, I’m basically 75% of the way to lobbying my state representative!

If you’re like me and are either new to animal rights or new to legislative advocacy, I invite you to make 2012 the year you tune into how animals are faring in your community and state, and start talking about it with the people you elected to represent you. With that in mind, I have a couple of steps that might help ease you through the process.

This place is full of your friends and neighbors.

1. Find out who your state representative and senator are. My favorite way to do this is to visit Project VoteSmart and look up my reps by my 9 digit ZIP code. (You will need those extra 4 digits that come after your ZIP code, which you can quickly look up at the USPS website.) Project VoteSmart should tell you who all of your elected officials are. For finding your state legislators, you will want to click on “State Legislative.”

2. Find their contact info. In most cases, Project VoteSmart is great about linking you to all kinds of contact info. However, if it’s not telling you how to contact your legislators, you can find out easily enough by going to the website of your state legislature, which you can find using the super handy database at the National Conference of State Legislatures.

3. Familiarize yourself with the issue. Google around. Find out what organizations are already advocating on this issue, and then ask them for their talking points and tips about how to approach your legislator. Animal Legal Defense Fund offers a handy tool to tell you what the laws are like in your state, and the Humane Society of the United States will tell you about much of the animal-related legislation currently pending in your state. The best part is that, as a citizen activist, you’re not expected to know tons of heady legal information or wonky policy data about whatever issue you want to discuss. You’re expected to know the issue, sure, but more importantly, to be able to passionately assert why something is so important to you. And you can expand “you” to include your family, friends, children, community, etc.

4. Get in touch. In-person contact is best, but a phone call, email, tweet or Facebook message is a great start. I really like this list of pointers when it comes to the actual conversation you’re going to have with your legislators. Take a look to give you a sense of how the meeting should go. Once you  make contact, you can make your case over the phone or in an email, or you can make an appointment to visit your legislator’s office or meet in the district somewhere — maybe over a soy latte at a nearby coffee house, or in a local park. If you have likeminded friends and neighbors, so much the better — invite your legislator to a local home where you will all be gathered (don’t forget the vegan cupcakes). Remember that legislators are most persuaded by those who have the power to vote them in (or out) of office, so gathering people from other districts, or talking with legislators outside of your district, will be less effective.

These are just a few tips to start getting involved in policy advocacy in your community. For most people, it just takes getting over the initial hump of not knowing who their legislators are and/or being intimidated about making contact. Remember that laws in our communities are made by passionate advocates who are persistent and committed, and aren’t afraid to let those with the power to make laws know it.

If you’re intrigued by legislative advocacy to benefit animals, you might also check out Julie Lewin’s book, Get Political for Animals and Win the Laws They Need, which is a must-read for any animal advocate interested in lobbying for change. Farm Sanctuary also has some helpful pointers on their website, including “How to Lobby for Farm Animals in Your State Legislature and in Congress,” “A Resource Guide to Bill Drafting,” “Raise Farm Animal Awareness at a Town Hall Meeting,” and, for our Northern neighbors, “Advocating for Farm Animals in Canada.”