[Njagdu] NJ Association of Guide Dog Users Assembly Letter Next Step for "Dusty's Law"

Fri Jul 27 22:11:47 UTC 2012

Ginger, great.
One at a time and before you know it, we will achieve our goal.
Best,
Joe Ruffalo

Keep believing.  Keep dreaming.  Keep learning
Let's work together.  Let's make a difference!
Joseph J. Ruffalo 
President, National Federation of the Blind of New Jersey
Phone:  973-743-0075
Please visit our State and National Web Sites
http://www.nfbnj.org
http://www.thruoureyes.org
http://www.blindchildren.org
http://www.nfb.org
Email: 
nfbnj at yahoo.com

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Ginger Kutsch 
  To: 'New Jersey Association of Guide Dog Users' 
  Cc: 'Joe Ruffalo' ; 'DANIEL FACCHINI' ; 'Marion Gwizdala' ; 'Bea Oliveti' ; 'Brian Mackey' 
  Sent: Friday, July 27, 2012 10:22 AM
  Subject: RE: NJ Association of Guide Dog Users Assembly Letter Next Step for "Dusty's Law"

  Assemblywoman Holly Schepisi has agreed to sign on to Dusty's Law! One more for our team!  Yay!

  From: Vincent Chaney Jr. [mailto:vgc732 at optonline.net] 
  Sent: Thursday, July 26, 2012 5:50 PM
  To: New Jersey Association of Guide Dog Users
  Cc: Joe Ruffalo; Vincent Chaney Jr; DANIEL FACCHINI; Marion Gwizdala; Bea Oliveti; Brian Mackey
  Subject: NJ Association of Guide Dog Users Assembly Letter Next Step for "Dusty's Law"
  Importance: High

  From the desk of Vincent G Chaney Jr, President, New Jersey Association of Guide Dog Users (NJAGDU):

  We, the New Jersey Association of Guide Dog Users, support Assembly A2728, designated as "Dusty's Law". We request all NFBNJ members, family, friends and New Jersey citizens to advocate for this bill to become law by contacting their two Assembly-persons and Senator today when a follow-up message is forwarded with the Senate instructions. This requires us to contact each New Jersey State Legislature (Senate and Assembly) to have the "Dusty's Law" bill become law for Guide Dog users today and in the future.

  Please let your Assembly-persons know you support the bill, Assembly No. 2728, and you are asking them to become a sponsor or co-sponsor. Please share this message with anyone without email to open this call to family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, businesses, churches, etc...

  Should you not know who your Assembly-Persons or Senator are, you could do one of the following:

                  1. Call the Office of Legislative Services

                     Office of Public Information

                     Toll Free: 800-792-8630

                     Phone:      609-847-3905

                                  2. Contact your local library

                  3. Call your Town Hall

                  4. Click on the link: http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/districts/districtnumbers.asp

                                  On this page, look for your city/town by browsing through the District list or use a screen reader "find" to search for your town.

                                  The link before the list of towns within a district gives Senator and Assembly-Person names, phone numbers, address, etc. The link below the towns gives professional background information of each representative.

  If this step (4) was not working for you, you may wish to click on the next link. This will break down the towns and cities further. When you click on your town though, it will bring you back to the point of the above step (4), but you will know where your town/city would be included.

  To determine your district number by the Municipality (town or city name) if you had a problem:

  http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/districts/municipalities.asp#O

  The following are the instructions to prepare the Assembly letter. 

  Instructions:

  1.       Put the date you are mailing at the top line of the document.

  2.       Add your Assembly-person's name to personalize your message. This is after "Dear Assemblyman/Assemblywoman" and before the comma. Please leave either Assemblyman or Assemblywoman whichever is appropriate and remove the other. Also remember we have two Assembly-persons for each district we reside in.

  3.       Change "Your Name" in the next line. In this same line, either leave member or change "member" to an office or position you may hold in the NFBNJ.

  4.       At the 3 asterisks which are after the description of Dusty's Law, add a personal comment about an attack or situation which has happened to you or someone you know. Should you not wish to add a note, remove the line with the asterisks.

  5.       Change the information at the end of the document. One line after the "Respectfully" line,: 

  A.      Enter your name and title/member

  B.      Change "Address" to your street address.

  C.      Change the text of City/Town, New Jersey Zip Code to your personal information.

  D.      Place your contact phone after the "Phone:".

  E.       Place your email after the "Email:".

  Please remember to also update and send the Senate Letter as we have to have both New Jersey State Houses to approve their "Dusty's Law" bills to have this become law

  One final  request, please send me a message if your interaction with your Senator or Assembly-Persons were positive, negative, to be determined or will review in their response with you. You may wish to also call your legislature as a follow-up to this letter. Please thank them for their support should you learn they are in favor of "Dusty's Law" and ask for them to vote "yes".

  A copy of the letter is included below if you were not able to open the attachment:

  July mailing-date, 2012

  Dear Assemblyman/Assemblywoman,

  My name is Your Name, member of the National Federation of the Blind of New Jersey, the largest and oldest organization of the blind in New Jersey and our nation.  I am writing to express the NFBNJ's position pertaining to an issue that is important to the blind community.

  We are urging that you will consider sponsoring or co-sponsoring the following bill that will extend greater protections to the blind and their guide dogs.

  Dusty's Law (A2728)

  A2728 criminalizes attacks on guide dogs and guide dogs in training which may interfere with the work of the dogs or may cause injury or death. Designating these attacks as a criminal act is essential, as it will ensure a police response when a guide dog or guide dog in training is attacked-something which no other law currently does. This bi-partisan legislation also calls for fines levied to an individual who is found guilty, and includes restitution for vet bills, value of guide dog and costs to replace and train with a new guide dog.  The Senate version of this bill (S1907) has also garnered bi-partisan support.

  *** Include a brief, personal comment or experience in this location from you. ***

  The real problem of blindness is not the loss of eyesight; it is the misunderstanding and lack of information that exists. Given the proper training and opportunity, blindness can be reduced to a physical nuisance. We urge the New Jersey Assembly to hear us for equality and support this legislative initiative.

  The members of the National Federation of the Blind of New Jersey, guide dog users, and guide dog trainers appreciated your time, professionalism, and attention that you paid to the issue we brought before you. When this bill is brought out of committee and put to a vote, we urge that you will vote for it.

  To sign on as a sponsor of this bill, please contact the prime sponsor:

  Assemblyman Robert Schroeder, Legislative District 39, (201) 391-3672

  To advocate for the hearing of this bill in Committee, please contact:

  Charles Mainor, Chair, Law & Public Safety Committee, (201) 536-7851

  For additional information, please contact:

  Vincent Chaney, President, New Jersey Association of Guide Dog Users

  Phone: (732) 251-8650   E-mail: vgc732 at optonline.net

  We look forward to working with you and your staff to bring our goal to fruition. If I can be of any assistance, please contact me by phone or via email. 

  Respectfully,

  Your Name, title in the organization

  National Federation of the Blind of New Jersey

  Address

  City/Town, New Jersey Zip Code

  Phone:

  Email: 

  Vincent G Chaney Jr

  732-251-8650

  President, NFBNJ New Jersey Association of Guide Dog Users

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