In May 2003, the Rhode Island Coalition Against Domestic Violence (RICADV) launched a CitizenSpeak campaign as part of their lobbying efforts to pass a protective order gun ban in Rhode Island.
RICADV knew they were in for a long battle. Many of the Rhode Island legislators have shown a resistance to gun control legislation. Despite the compelling testimonials and turn out at hearings and meetings, RICADV could not get their bill out of the Senate Judiciary committee.
Just as it seemed the bill would fade into obscurity, the tragic murder of a Providence woman by her batterer reignited the group’s efforts. In her memory, RICADV organized a rally in front of the State House. At the same time, they heard about CitizenSpeak. They realized the value of an email campaign but weren’t sure if they had the resources to organize both a rally and email campaign at the same time.
“You can imagine how hectic it was preparing for the rally,” said Patricia Loomis, senior policy associate at RICADV. “Luckily, we were able to create a CitizenSpeak campaign in about 30 minutes, on our way out the door to the State House.”
To promote their campaign, RICADV distributed flyers at the rally and emailed their action alert list inviting people to participate in their email campaign. Their goal was to prove to legislators the broad support for the bill. And that they did.
Over 200 people participated in their email campaigns - achieving a 25% participation rate. The secretary for the Senate Judiciary committee chair printed out a stack of emails - an inch thick - in support of the bill and only two emails against it.
Before the rally and the CitizenSpeak campaign, RICADV couldn’t get their own bill’s sponsor to return their calls. But one rally, good press coverage and 200 emails later, legislators were soliciting meetings with RICADV.
“Legislators were amazed by the flood of emails they were receiving,” said Patricia. “At the local level, legislators simply aren’t used to hearing from such large numbers of constituents. It definitely played a role in winning the support of the Senate President who cares what constituents think.”
“Not only did CitizenSpeak influence legislators, but it helped rejuvenate our campaign. 70% of the participants provided personal statements. They were personal and powerful. It reminded us of why we work as hard as we do.”
