MPAC Members Join Inter-Faith Coalition to Lobby Against U.S.-Sponsored Torture
July 29, 2009
Over and over again in research as well as comments from elected officials themselves, we are told that personal visits by constituents to their elected officials (or their staff) are the most effective way to communicate and advocate for an issue.
With this in mind, a large interfaith delegation -- including MPAC board member Ramsey Hakim, two rabbis, two members of the Christian-Muslim Consultative Group of Southern California, a Roman Catholic Priest, and a constitutional lawyer -- recently met with Senator Dianne Feinstein's (D-CA) Los Angeles District Director, to discuss the importance of investigation and legislation related to U.S.-sponsored torture.
For several of the participants, this was their first time meeting with a member of Congress, one which left them with very positive feelings about the power of personal interaction.
While one often doesn't know the impact of such a meeting will have, participants felt that these interfaith delegations, where each person spoke from deep religious and moral beliefs about the issue of torure, presented an extremely important witness to the importance of torture as a moral issue.
The meeting with Feinstein's office followed four other meetings with district staff of Congressmembers in the greater Los Angeles area. MPAC member Jane El-Farra participated in another seven-person interfaith delegation at a meeting with staff at Rep. Brad Sherman's (D-CA) local office.
To learn how you can schedule and hold a successful meeting with your elected officials, read MPAC's guide on "How to Engage with Public Officials."
-- Virginia Classick, MPAC interfaith ally
