How to Submit Written Testimony That Gets Read

The takeaway is to be mindful and allow sufficient time to deal with a matter before it becomes needlessly complicated. Getting the facts straight and making known what another member would need to know in order to safely go to a meeting or go shooting at a range, or learn about an event or activity such as legislative affairs, gun storage, etc. are all critical. In order to be of maximum service to its membership, the association should make the most responsible choice as clear as possible.

In addition to understanding how far a proposal may travel, a thoughtful shooter must remember that a good proposal includes sufficient information for a shooter of average ability and on another island to duplicate the shooting. This does not mean that all proposed shooting activities must be lowered to the lowest common denominator, but rather that good guidance should make the responsible choice clearer rather than more confusing.

Separate the proposal from the outcome

In addition to tracking the content of a measure (what changes), it is helpful to understand its status (where it is). Thus a handy list of legislative measures would note not only the bill number but also which committee it is before and what the next key date is for that measure. (A single headline that reads “Legislative Drama” or forwarded email without source is useless – record the source and write out the actual question that was before the legislative body).

Write from experience and stay specific

When a member of your club submits written testimony on your behalf, he or she will do best to write short, specific and personal stories about how the bills before the Legislature affect you and your family. He or she should try to keep it to one page or less and set out a clear position and reasons for that position and a specific request for action.

Keep a record for the next session

All legislative work is cumulative from session to session. Thus it is so important to save all your written testimony, notes of meetings and phone calls, and a list of unanswered questions. A quiet, single page archive maintained by the president and/or secretary will show what happened at each stage of consideration and prompt reminders of what needs to happen next.

A short checklist for members

• Verify the date, location and source of information prior to distributing.
• Ask one specific question to clarify details about the measure under consideration.
• Keep safety, courtesy and local rules on top of your concerns.
• Remember what you learned to tell the next member who contacts the same legislative body for the same reasons.
• Follow up with the club, committee, or association contact when an action is requested.

Closing note

Many useful association tasks have very minor visibility or reward. Thus a good written briefing for a meeting, a careful record of what happened at a session, an introduction of visitors to your club or your association, or an explanation to a fellow member of what has happened recently at the state or federal level — all these are very valuable.

What this article adds

Short, specific and personal testimony carries more weight than a form letter. Here is how to write it well. Note: The source note above and additional information provided above can be applied to written member testimony for the purposes of responsible, informative, and higher quality written communication as an association member. Compare with original information, club notices, etc., for written correspondence.

In reality most written testimony is read by legislators and therefore should be short and sweet. They read so much that what stands out is specificity to the issue at hand and to your circumstances. Start with who you are. This means simply stating your name and where you are from in this state (which island you are from). Be clear about your relationship to shooting sports – a club member, club officer, father or mother of a youth shooter, instructor etc. After that simply state your clear position on the issue before the committee and support it with two reasons why you hold that view. Lastly state specifically what action you are asking the committee to take.