Lobby Day Prep Kit

Dress professionally. My recommendation is to wear something that’s comfortable and makes you feel confident.

Arrive at least 5-10 minutes early.

If you’re coming with a group of fellow constituents, decide ahead of time who will lead the meeting. This person should be comfortable checking in when you arrive, facilitating introductions for each person in your group and beginning the conversation.

Stay focused on the ask: you want a federal ban on assault weapons and you need your lawmaker’s support. 

OR your lawmaker supports the federal assault weapon ban and you need their help urging leadership to call the assault weapon ban up for a vote.

You don’t need to be an expert on assault weapons. You don’t need to answer requests to define them. You can respond to these questions by pointing back to the comprehensive list of weapons listed in the bill and repeating that you want their support for the ban.

It’s okay to feel emotional and express that. It’s important for your lawmaker to know how deeply this matters to you and your group. It’s absolutely appropriate to tell your lawmaker how mass shootings have impacted you and why banning assault weapons is critical to preventing the next mass shooting.

It’s okay to lay it on the line that their support of the ban is what it takes to earn or keep your vote. 

The AR-15 was created by the ArmaLite Rifle company in the late 1950’s for combat. It was designed for war not for civilian use.

77 percent of mass shooters who use an AR-15 style weapon buy their weapon legally.

Mass shooters who use an AR-15 style weapon kill 6x as many people per each public mass shooting.

The bullets made for the AR-15 (223 and 5.56 ammo) are designed to ricochet off of bone and tumble inside the body to cause the most amount of irreparable damage.

People who are shot with an AR-15 are often 

unrecognizable. Children killed in Uvalde had to be identified by their DNA.

In some places, AR-15 style weapons can be bought easier than a handgun and sometimes without a background check.

The previous ban from 1994-2004 worked. Reports show that the risk of a person in the U.S. dying in a mass shooting was 70% lower while the ban was in place.

Like the previous ban, the federal assault weapon ban grandfathers in all legally purchased AR-15 style weapons. The ban applies to the future sale, purchase and manufacturing of new AR-15 style weapons. 

Lawmakers who support the federal assault weapon ban play a critical role in the next steps that the bill must go through to become law. Survivors and victims families want a vote so we can get our lawmakers on the record.

The Senate: Leader Schumer has refused to put the assault weapon ban up for a vote on the senate floor for two years. Last year when the assault weapon ban passed the house, Leader Schumer never called the bill for a votes. This year advocates have been pleading with him to call the bill for a vote and again he has not been willing to call it. The house has moved the bill two years in a row. It’s time for Leader Schumer to do his part to get the senate on record.

This is your ask for your Senator. We need Senate co-sponsors to signal their support for a vote regardless of the outcome and to put pressure on Leader Schumer to call the bill for a vote before the next mass shooting. 

Chairman Durbin is the head of the judiciary committee and he also has the power to the move the assault weapon ban through committee. He also has the votes to pass it through committee but he has been unwilling to mark up the assault weapon ban in the judiciary committee despite calls from constituents, concerns citizens, members of the judiciary committee and high ranking House representatives. 

This is your second ask for your Senator. We need Senate co-sponsors to signal their support for the mark up and to put pressure on Chairman Durbin to mark up the federal assault weapon ban in the judiciary committee before the next mass shooting. He has the votes to pass it and needs to do this now. 

The House: if your lawmaker is a co-sponsor, make sure they have signed the discharge petition. If they haven’t, this is your ask. 

If they’ve signed the discharge petition, then your ask is for them to talk to their colleagues and ask them to sign the discharge petition. Lawmakers talk to each other. Ask your lawmaker to signal their support to their colleagues and ask them to also sign the discharge petition.