In regards to legislation please read

A few years back I used my traveling to herp shows in many different states as a way to get people to sign up for a non profit corporation that I filed here in Michigan to fight anti herp legislation. I did not get enough support and I let it die after a year. I got tons of people willing to support petitions, etc., but not to fund projects, legal funds, etc..

I don't have any desire to do that again, but I do have some thoughts. Would you register your name and address info/email/etc with me if I were to compile a database of herpers to be used nationwide to help fight legislation? The names/info would not be for sale and would only be for use if needed.

I was thinking, PIJAC only sends out info to paying members and only looks for support from members. What if I could be there to supply them with a list of people that would support their petitions in whatever state the fight is in. That would instantly strengthen their backing and keep you informed on your state.

If I did it this way it would not be so much work or money that I couldn't handle it without the occasional small donations for printing and mailing costs. I would just have people either mail or email me their info and I would basically archive it, stored away for when it would be needed.

Give me your thoughts on this. I think it may be worth doing. I talk to thousands of people each year about reptiles. It may be much easier to gather support than most think currently. Even a few thousand people registered would make a huge difference instead of somebody having to go out with a clipboard and start from scratch.

Please don't give me thoughts on how to make it more work or more expensive as I have no use for more work or less money. Thanks guys. Evan Stahl

You could set up a listserv through yahoo I believe this is the right url http://groups.yahoo.com/
it's free and then people could sign up for it on their own and if they change their minds they could just go and delete their names

and good luck : )

Sounds like a wonderful idea, Evan. I think if there was a primary magnet to pull in people from all the fragmented tangents here and there, it would be an impressive number.

I'm sure many people would agree to put a link on their websites, and maybe even sites like Fauna could add it to their registration, such as "Check this box if we can share your name with herp legislation organizations" etc., with a disclaimer that their info would not be sold, etc.

Evan,

I have had a Legislative Alerts forum on this site for a while now, but I guess most people couldn't find it. I just moved it into the General Discussions category, right below the General Business Discussions forum.

Hope that helps.

Evan,

Count me in. Will work out a donation next week.

You can count me in and I think stuff like that would be a great idea..

It's a great Idea Evan, let me know when it's ready.



Ralph Chapman

I'm down.

Rich, I am such a creature of habit, some times I forget to look at anything other than the BOI and classifieds. Sad really. I will check it out. Is it OK if this stays here for now? I still think it is the best place for a fledgling concept.

Thanks everybody. I will do some tire kicking on ideas this week and talk to my friend Bob who raises money for PIJAC each year at his shows and get some thoughts. I'm also going to talk to my guy doing my sites and see if maybe we can't just slap something together for the cause. I will post anything new here. Please don't worry about donations right now. The most important thing is just support. It is an old cliche but it is the most truth we can find in government, "United we stand, divided we fall." Evan Stahl

Evan,

Sure, but bear in mind that I do not want the BOI to get too cluttered up with inappropriate material. Makes it too tough for people to find what they are looking for.

If you get something worked out and want a separate forum dedicated to it, let me know what you have in mind.