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Push! Push! Push!!!
Brewers and Beer drinkers of Alabama...your help is desperately needed! We are in the final stages of a long labor...to lift and repeal some of the last vestages of prohibition that our archaic state is clinging onto! House Bill 196 (HB196), the Gourmet Beer Bill has passed the House of "Representatives" and is now headed to the senate sometime this week for their vote. Please take a moment to read the following letter from Stuart Carter, President of the Free the Hops grassroots movement. There is a link in the email, simply click on that, find out who your senator is, and give their office a call. You will speak with a secretary I'm sure, but tell them that you support HB196 and you would appreciate your senator's support and yes vote as well!
Members and supporters of Free The Hops,
HB196, the Gourmet Beer Bill, is up for vote in the Senate this week, most likely on Tuesday May 6th. Now is the time to call your state senator and let him or her know that you want HB196 to pass! Because the Gourmet Beer Bill has already passed the State House of Representatives, this is the final step before sending this bill to the Governor. It's very close, so please contact your senator to express your support.
Please visit this website and enter your ZIP code to find out who your State Senator is. Then please call them about HB196, the Gourmet Beer Bill, unless your senator is Lowell Barron. As he is the head of the rules committee that decides which bills come up for a vote on the floor, and his secretary will be receiving hundreds of phone calls, you will get a better result if you call Senator Barron's business office instead of his Montgomery number.
When this bill was debated in the House, many legislators spoke of the dozens of phone calls they received from their constituents. Your phone calls and emails really do make a difference and is one of the primary reasons we passed in the House. Let's do this again!
When you call your senator's office, you'll likely speak to a secretary who will only be interested in knowing the bill number and your position. Here's an example of what to say if you're not sure:
"My name is (your name) and I'm calling to let Senator (senator name) know that I support HB196, The Gourmet Beer Bill. I would like him/her to vote Yes on this bill. Thank you for your time. Have a pleasant day."That's it. The secretary may ask for your address to ensure you are a constituent.
Especially if you have made previous attempts at phone calls or emails and have not gotten a response, we are now at the point where it is imperative that you speak with your senator's office. We need you to confirm that you can count on their Yes vote on HB196 this week. You can be sure our neo-Prohibitionist opponents will be making lots of phone calls. Calls from our supporters need to overwhelm the Senators and drown out the opposition's calls.
Free the Hops!
Stuart Carter, President
Free The Hops | Alabamians For Specialty Beer