Click-It and Stick-It

How we tell the NJ Legislature what we think in a way that's fast, easy and effective.

Part of the NJCSD's core mission is to make us better 2nd Amendment advocates so that your voice can be heard in Trenton regarding matters of self defense and firearms rights.

Unfortunately, in these hectic days where we work harder and harder for less and less because the government keeps taking more and more, investing the time to send a letter regarding a pending bill, or to introduce testimony on a matter before a committee, has become increasingly difficult. Besides, there's always so much anti-gun nonsense happening in this state, you could probably make a full time career out of just this alone.

The Click-it and Stick-it program brings together technology and creativity to make us all more effective in having our voices heard in Trenton - to do together what we can't do individually.

Here's how it works.

NJCSD members who wish to participate in the program provide us with permission to keep your digital image of their signature on file.  We capture your signature by a scanner from hard copy, digitally protect it using state of the art encryption software, and store it in a secure location accessible only by the NJCSD management who are responsible for coordinating the program. 

When there's an issue at stake - for instance a new bill introduced to committee - we alert members to the substance of the law (usually not good for us), and ask you to quickly go to the forum and 'vote' to have your name included in a letter which will be posted for you to review.

Based on your approval of the statement that will be posted on our bulletin board, we will print a letter on NJCSD stationery, appending the names and signatures in a 'petition' style format at the end, and send it formally to the lawmakers involved.

This does a few things for us.

• Gravitas: We all know that legislators respond better to hard copy letters than Email or phone calls. Having a real hard copy paper letter sent to lawmakers with your signature at the end will carry weight. It has 'gravitas' that an email can never convey. Your personal signature says a lot.
• Quality: The letter will be written in the same professional style and manner which you've come to expect from us, so that those of you not comfortable as "wordsmiths" can get your feelings known without the discomfort of having to struggle with phrasing a letter of your own.
• Convenience: All it takes is a few seconds to log on and "vote" to have your name included on any given letter or petition. If you don't want your name on the action, you need do nothing. This is strictly an "opt-in" program where the digital signatures will be used only by your explicit permission for that single purpose only.
• Timeliness: Because it's all handled electronically, we can have a formal statement of protest out and in the hands of legislators in the span of days, rather than weeks. How many times have we been notified all to late of an impending bill that's going before committee, without enough time to react?
• Fundraising: In keeping with our goal of generating 'war chest' funds, we will be requesting a $1 donation each time you allow us to use your signature for each letter we write. This helps us put yet more money into the treasury in a way that's painless, yet productive.

Some of you may be concerned about 'security' of your signature. That it might be misused for some unauthorized purpose. That you have concerns over some potential problem. Let me speak to that point for a moment.  Keep in mind that we use state-of-the-art encryption and security protocols.  The signatures are not accessible by the public, but only to selected NJCSD staff.  However, there's a more practical, realistic explanation.

Your digital signature is already out there, on hundreds of documents, whether you approved it or not. Whenever you write a check, the bank digitizes it. Whenever you submit your taxes, the government captures your signature digitally. Have you bought anything with a credit card anytime recently? If so, when you signed that pad, your digital signature was captured and is already on file. If it's fraud you're concerned about, you take a bigger chance when you give your credit card to a waiter at a restaurant or a gas station attendant to fill up your tank.

We're not some faceless, nameless conglomerate with hundreds of employees and an agenda to sell you more stuff. We're the people who are on the same side of this issue as you are. So, doesn't it make sense to trust the people who are actually taking time to work for your best interests?

If you have any questions about C&S, please contact us for more information.