What's Your Excuse?

The best way to express your opinion on an issue is through personal communication with your elected official.

Three effective ways to communicate with your elected representatives are:

• Personal Visit
• Telephone
• Personal Letter

Before making contact you should familiarize yourself with the New York City Ferret Ban. Take some time to read through the information on this website. If you have any questions, e-mail us.

For Personal Visits:

• Make an appointment and be on time.
• Identify yourself.
• Get right to the point and be brief.
• Support/Oppose one issue per contact.
• Provide facts. Use some of ours...
• Cite the bill number and author of the pending legislation
• State your position on the issue. Provide a specific example of how the issue will impact you. (Note: You do not need to own a ferret in order to have an opinion on this issue.)
  
• Provide a fact sheet, one page in length, with an outline of the problem and the solution to leave with the member.
• Be positive in stating your position, diffuse the opposition's arguments.
• Ask your elected official for his or her views on the issue. How will the official vote?
• Get to know the Council Member's staff.
• Send a follow-up thank you letter after the meeting.

• Ask for the Council Member; if not available, ask for the staff person responsible for that issue area.
• Identify yourself.
• Get right to the point and be brief.
• Support/Oppose one issue per contact.
• Provide facts. Use some of ours...
• Cite the bill number and author of the pending legislation.
• State your position on the issue. Provide a specific example of how the issue will impact you. (Note: You do not need to currently own a ferret in order to have an opinion on this issue.)
  
• Leave your telephone number in case there are further questions.
• Remember, a call to the office staff can also be as effective as a call to the Council Member.

For Personal Letters:

You can write ONE letter to one council member listed on the Who to Write page and cc. copies to all the rest if you'd like. It's perfectly acceptable to do this. You can even e-mail the same letter that you mail! It will probably only take you about five minutes longer than it would take you to mail or e-mail just one person, but your one letter will have a much greater impact.

1. Use your own words.
   Form letters receive less attention, but even a form letter is better than no letter at all!
   
   
2. Be timely.
   Write your letter before the vote, not after.
   
   
3. Cite the bill number and author of the pending legislation.
   
   
4. Let them know why you're writing.
   State the topic you're writing about, as briefly as possible, in the letter's introduction.
   
   
5. State your position on the issue.
   Provide a specific example of how the issue will impact you. (Note: You do not need to currently own a ferret in order to have an opinion on this issue.)
   
   
6. Stick to a single subject.
   Deal with one issue (The Ferret Ban) per letter. Presenting two or more issues becomes confusing and will detract from your efforts.
   
   
7. Keep it short!
   Short, concise letters are more likely to be read than long, meandering ones. Stick to one page if possible. Ever notice how you read letters to the editor in the paper? Most people read the shorter letters first and then perhaps later read the longer ones. Thus your shorter letter has a better chance of being read.
   
   
8. Don't be afraid to let some passion show through.
   
   
9. Be polite.
   Don't be shrill or abusive. People tend to discard letters containing personal attacks. Even though you're dying to call Giuliani the antichrist, stifle the urge. Name calling and threats won't win friends or influence elected officials.
   
   
10. Your letter should be logically organized.
    
    
    • First a brief recitation of the issue you are opposing (The NYC Ferret Ban)
    • Followed by a statement of your own position.
    • Then present your evidence.
    • Close with a short restatement of your position or a pithy comment ("New York City, famous for its New Years Eve celebration and "ball drop," is also somewhat famous among ferret fanciers as the place where human bites (i.e. humans biting humans) outnumber ferret bites per year!").
      
      
11. Use facts, figures and expert testimony whenever possible.
    This raises your letters above the "sez you, sez me" category. Readers respect the opinions of people with special knowledge or expertise. Use expert testimony to bolster your case.
    
    You may refer to some of the documents on this site including:
    
    
    • Affidavits and documentation for the Lawsuit
    • Pro Ferret Testimony from the DOH hearings
    • Numerous documents pertaining to the misinformation in Dr. Taylor's letter
    • Ferret Facts
      
      
12. "A picture is worth a thousand words."
    With this issue in particular, good pictures and videos may be extremely helpful in showing that ferrets are indeed beloved household family members and pets and that they are not wild, vicious or "naturally inclined to do harm". Remember, many people have never even seen a ferret.
    
    
13. Proofread your letter carefully for errors in spelling, punctuation and grammar.
    Read your letter to a friend, for objective input. One suggestion is that a letter shouldn't be mailed the same day it is written. Write, proofread and edit the piece. Then put it aside until the next day. Rereading your letter in a fresh light often helps you to spot errors in reasoning, stilted language and the like. On the other hand, don't let the letter sit too long and lose it's timeliness.
    
    
14. Try to view the letter from the reader's perspective.
    Will the arguments make sense to someone without a special background on this issue. Did you use terms not familiar to the average reader?
    
    
15. Make sure your letter is legible.
    There seems to be a difference of opinion as to whether typed or hand written letters carry more impact. Certainly, the most important thing, whether typed or hand written, is that the letter be legible.
    
    
16. Send e-mail correspondence as well.
    Do not send email instead of a regular letter. Legislators sometimes receive more than 200 emails a day. There is no way for them to read them all and your email may easily be overlooked. Hard copies of letters sent in the mail will always be opened and read by someone.
    
    
17. Sign your letter and provide your name address and daytime phone number.
    They may use it to verify that you wrote the letter. If you're nervous about giving out your home information, get a friend's permission to use theirs, or feel free to use ours.
    
    
18. Don't be discouraged if your letter does not receive a reply or if you receive a form letter response.
    Know that your letters are being read and they do make a difference. If you raise questions in your letter you stand a better chance of getting a reply, but there's no guarantee.
    
    
19. Most important -- WRITE!
    Do not try to write a perfect letter. Just give it a good effort and send it off. Letter writing is the one thing that any one of us can do on our own. No committees or groups are necessary. Just do it!