Contact Your Elected Officials

President Barack Obama

PH 202-456-1111

The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

Vice President Joe Biden

U.S. Representatives by State

U.S. Senators

State Legislators

Tweet a Message to Your Representatives via Votizen

Email the White House re: LGBT Issues

Following are general guidelines when emailing a lawmaker:

NOTE: You should at all times refer to the person by their official title. Never call an elected official by their first name! Example: Greetings Senator Adams or Good afternoon Senator Adams

• Get down to business quickly. Be brief, be direct, be simple and above all, be accurate. Do not philosophize. Know your topic and be prepared. Remember that your legislator hears many viewpoints. You want him/her to remember yours, so be factual.
• Be friendly, be persuasive, be professional, and be courteous. Do not belabor the point. Your role is to explain, inform and persuade. Do not threaten (such as saying I'll never vote for you again; an actual threat of harm will earn you a trip to jail).
• Never make up a position for the organization you are representing, or give an answer to a question that you are not familiar with. Remember, the legislator is depending on you to give accurate information, not guessing.
• When finishing your email, always thank the legislator for his/her time.
• Keep in mind that many or most of the legislators have little or no direct knowledge or experience with LGBTI issues or the bills that could affect the LGBTI community.

NOTE: Remember to use the official name of your state; when you live in a state, you are both a citizen of the state, and of the republic (United States).

Sample Email Supporting Marriage Equality

[Senator, Representative, Assembly Member, etc.] [Last Name]

I am writing to urge you to oppose the proposed constitutional amendment that would deny same-sex couples, like (insert spouse's name) and I, the right to marry. (Insert spouse's name) and I have been together (X) years, we have (Y) children, and have lived and worked in (insert name of town) for (Z) years.

We believe that ALL (insert name of state, commonwealth, or territory) families deserve the freedom to marry, and the protections that marriage provides. Marriage makes families healthy, protects children, and makes our society stronger. We hope you will help make (insert name of state, commonwealth, or territory) a safe, healthy place for ALL families and vote against this constitutional ban on marriage equality.

Sincerely,

Insert Full Name and Address

Change Public Position on Marriage

One of the valuable things you can do is to help your legislator, or any candidate for public office, learn how to change their public position on marriage if they have previously stated that they are against marriage equality. This can be done via written communication with a public servant/candidate, or better yet, during a face-to-face meeting. Third Way is a think tank that answers America’s challenges with modern ideas aimed at the center. In March 2012 Third Way released a publication aimed at guiding politicians through this process in a way that shows strength, not weakness (the dreaded "flip-flopping"). Click here for the PDF: HOW TO CHANGE YOUR PUBLIC POSITION ON MARRIAGE.

Searchable Database for Positions of Elected Officials

See where your elected officials stand on federal legislation that affects the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community, as well as whether or not they support marriage for gay and lesbian couples.

This tool is provided and maintained by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC).