General Assembly responses to Safe Commute emails

[Sky King]

Not to be redundant but because this is a hot topic, I thought it would be good to have a thread to post the responses we get from the General Assembly members to the emails, letters and phone calls we make concerning this issue. With that said, here are the first responses I have received.

First, from Jim Gotto:

"I am a co-sponsor.

Jim"

Next from Barrett Rich:

"I will always support the law abiding citizen's Second Amendment rights. If I may be of further assistance, please let me know.

Sincerely,

Representative Barrett Rich

Republican Majority Whip

Vice Chairman of Government Operations Committee"

I have emailed and spoke with MY representative, Antonio Parkinson. He said that he would speak to Eddie Bass about it and that he does not see a problem with the bills but he would not committ to supporting it or signing on as a co-sponsor.

Sam Cooper

Memphis, Tennessee

[Oh Shoot]

"You don't have to worry about me. I have been pushing this legislation for years and for a long time was the only sponsor in the senate. I will vote to move this legislation forward with the fewest restraints on your constitutional rights as possible.

Yours in service,

Sen. Stacey Campfield"

-------------

I won't get a response from my Rep., Joe Armstrong. He votes against all 2A issues.

Haven't gotten any response from all the other 27 or so.

- OS

[Sky King]

Just got this from Jeremy Faison's office:

Dear Sam:

The problem with the Employee Safe Commute email campaign is two-fold: 1. because of the use of a form letter most of these emails automatically went to the junk folder; it is common policy with form letter campaigns not to respond unless they are from the Representative's district. Please don't take a lack of response personally, most of them assume that you sent the exact same letter to everyone else as well. 2. To be most effective you should contact your legislator for support or even just the committee or sub-committee this bill is currently before.

That said, of course Rep. Faison supports this bill. I believe half of the legislature has already signed on as secondary sponsors. He signed on to a very similar bill last year that was killed in committee. This bill should have the support it needs to make it out of committee to the House floor.

Best,

Tori Venable

Legislative Aide

Rep. Jeremy Faison

202 War Memorial

Nashville, TN 37243

615-741-6871

And from Beverly Merrero:

"Dear Mr. Cooper,

Thank you for taking the time to contact me. In response to your recent email regarding Senate Bill 3002, I will be voting no on this particular piece of legislation.

Sincerely,

Senator Beverly Marrero"

And from Mae Beavers:

Senator Beavers supports this bill.

Patti Saliba

Office of Senator Mae Beavers

Chairman of Senate Judiciary Committee

7 Legislative Plaza

Nashville, Tennessee 37243

615/741-2421 or 1-800-449-8366 x 12421

Fax: 615/253-0205

[Guest Star1021Scott]

First response from Jim Tracy

2-2-12

Scott, Thanks so much for your email concerning a person's employment and their right to own and transport a firearm. I have always been a strong Pro-Second Amendment Advocate, so I will certainly look hard at these bills. I really appreciate your input -- please feel free to contact me in the future. Best regards, Jim

Here is a canned response I recieved from Gov. Haslam today...

Dear Scott:

Thank you for writing to me and sharing your thoughts and concerns. Listening to and learning from Tennesseans is very important to me, and I appreciate hearing from you.

After careful review of your letter, I have forwarded it to my legislative staff for consideration. Your suggestions will be helpful as we develop our legislative and policy agenda.

Again, thank you for taking the time to write. I look forward to working with you and all Tennesseans to make our great state an even better place to live, work, and raise a family.

Warmest regards,

Bill Haslam

[BigK]

I got 9 replies to the form-letter emails I sent from TFLAC and all 9 were form-letter email responses.

There's some irony in there, I guess.

[Sky King]

I just got this back from my Representative, Antonio Parkinson, a Democrat. .

"I am signed on the bill. Thanks. Rep. Parkinson"

[Volzfan]

Just got this from Jeremy Faison's office:

Dear Sam:

The problem with the Employee Safe Commute email campaign is two-fold: 1. because of the use of a form letter most of these emails automatically went to the junk folder; it is common policy with form letter campaigns not to respond unless they are from the Representative's district. Please don't take a lack of response personally, most of them assume that you sent the exact same letter to everyone else as well. 2. To be most effective you should contact your legislator for support or even just the committee or sub-committee this bill is currently before.

That said, of course Rep. Faison supports this bill. I believe half of the legislature has already signed on as secondary sponsors. He signed on to a very similar bill last year that was killed in committee. This bill should have the support it needs to make it out of committee to the House floor.

Best,

Tori Venable

Legislative Aide

Rep. Jeremy Faison

202 War Memorial

Nashville, TN 37243

615-741-6871

Funny that I got the very same email scolding us for using a form letter when they themselves do it. Typical politics.