Sample Letters

Thank-You Letter for House Members Who Voted in Support of the Freedom to Read Amendment

[DATE]

Dear Member of Congress __________[INSERT NAME]:

On behalf of all of us at ____________[NAME AND LOCATION OF BOOKSTORE] and the American Booksellers Association, I am writing to express our enormous appreciation for your support of Representative Bernie Sanders' amendment to the CJS Appropriations Bill last week with regard to funding of Section 215 of the USA Patriot Act.

Although we did not prevail (some of us don't really understand how a tie vote is a loss -- but, that's a different issue!), we are very gratified that we garnered 210 votes in support of our position. We strongly believe that providing the FBI with extraordinary powers to snoop into the reading habits of Americans is fundamentally wrong -- and that as more Americans come to understand this matter (and communicate their views to their elected Representatives) -- we will ultimately prevail.

We recognize that the supporters of Section 215 may try to unfairly equate your vote with being soft on terrorism, which, as you understand, is totally absurd. We want you to know that we stand ready to publicly support and defend the position you took in any forum you wish. Just let us know!

On behalf of the American reading public, thanks again for voting in favor of Representative Sanders' amendment.

Sincerely,

[YOUR NAME, STORE NAME, AND ADDRESS]

P.S. As you may know, almost 150,000 signatures have been collected on petitions in bookstores (including ours) supporting the repeal of Section 215, and we would welcome an opportunity to present you with those signatures collected in your part of the country. If you're interested in arranging such a presentation, please contact Oren J. Teicher at the American Booksellers Association at [email protected].

Template Letter for House Members Who Voted Against the Freedom to Read Amendment

[DATE]

Dear Member of Congress________[INSERT NAME]:

On behalf of all of us at _______[NAME AND LOCATION OF BOOKSTORE] and the American Booksellers Association, we were disappointed by your vote in opposition to Representative Bernie Sanders' amendment to the CJS Appropriations Bill last week with regard to funding of Section 215 of the USA Patriot Act.

We strongly believe that providing the FBI with extraordinary powers to snoop into the reading habits of Americans is fundamentally wrong -- and that as more Americans come to understand this matter (and communicate their views to their elected representatives) -- we will ultimately prevail.

We would welcome an opportunity to meet with you to discuss this matter -- and to share with you the thousands of signatures garnered in our part of the country from customers in support of efforts to repeal Section 215. If you'd be willing to hold such a meeting, please don't hesitate to contact Oren J. Teicher at the American Booksellers Association ([email protected]), who will coordinate a meeting at your convenience with booksellers from your congressional district.

We'll look forward to opening a dialog with you on this issue.

Thank you very much.

Sincerely,

[YOUR NAME, STORE NAME, AND ADDRESS]