Sisters and Brothers,

On May 16 the Coalition to March on the RNC and Stop the War will be in Federal Court. We are seeking an injunction that forces the City of Saint Paul to issue permits for our anti-war march on Republican National Convention September 1. We need your help. Contact Saint Paul’s mayor and send letters to the Twin Cities press.

Starting May 12, we need our supporters and fellow protesters to contact Saint Paul Mayor Chris Coleman. Urge him to deliver a final permit to the Coalition to March on the RNC and Stop the War, for us to march from the State Capitol to the Xcel Center on September 1, 2008. Email Mayor Coleman at mayor@ci.stpaul.mn.us or call him at 651-266-8510. Feel free to use the talking points mentioned below.

We began seeking permits for this demonstration days after the Republicans announced they would hold their national convention in Minnesota. While we have a permit to assemble and rally at the State Capitol, the City of Saint Paul continues to withhold a permit for a march on the Xcel Center, where the convention will be held. Saint Paul city government is now saying “wait and see what we give you on May 31.” This is unacceptable.

No important social question is ever settled in the courtroom. Issues that matter are settled in the streets and in the court of public opinion. We need folks across the U.S to demand that we get a permit to go to the Xcel Center - the site of the RNC. The eyes of the world will be focused there September 1.

In addition to calling and emailing the Saint Paul mayor’s office with the demand to issue the permits, writing letters to the local newspapers would really help. We want to make it known that people from all around the country are coming here and insist that Saint Paul city officials give permits for our anti-war protest.

The two main local ‘mainstream’ newspapers are the Star Tribune (Minneapolis) and the Pioneer Press St Paul). Here is the information on sending letters.:

Star Tribune (250 word maximum)

Submit from their website
OR... Fax to 612-673-4359
OR... Mail to Editorial Department, Star Tribune, 425 Portland Av., Minneapolis, MN 55488.

Pioneer Press (150 word maximum)

Please send your letters in the body of an e-mail, not as an attachment, to letters@pioneerpress.com. Include your full name and your city of residence for publication. For verification purposes only, and not for publication, include your street address and daytime telephone number.

Please keep you letters short and concise. If you only send a letter to one paper, the Star Tribune is the more important of the two. If you send the same letter to both, send separate emails.

We recommend a few talking points for your letters:

1. Denounce the war. The Coalition to March on the RNC and Stop the War is planning a major anti-war demonstration and the city of Saint Paul is refusing to grant a permit to go to the site of the RNC - the Xcel Center.

2. We are planning to march on the RNC. We expect / demand to be at the Xcel Center September 1.
3. The Coalition to March on the RNC and Stop the War is getting the runaround from the city of Saint Paul. Permit applications have been in since days after the convention was announced. We have a right to protest the war. We need the permits now.

You efforts will help to create the political climate where we get the permits we need.

Sincerely,

The Coalition to March on the RNC and Stop the War