Bring
Home Missing Children
We
join the rest of the country in sending a welcome home
message to Elizabeth Smart. We are thrilled for the Smart
family of Utah. Fourteen year-old Elizabeth was abducted
from her bedroom nine months ago by a homeless person who
the family felt sorry for and invited into their home, hiring
him to do work.
Elizabeth
has now been found by citizens who took action and we applaud
these heroes. Although Elizabeth is home safe and loved,
there will be many issues for her and her family to deal
with. The road ahead will be a long and arduous one for
this teenager, who by all rights should be enjoying school,
friends, family and all of the things that teenagers look
forward to.
Her
life is changed forever because of one fanatic and his beliefs.
We don’t know everything that happened to Elizabeth Smart
and frankly, it’s none of our business. Elizabeth and her
family need privacy in order to get through this ordeal.
But we do know that Elizabeth was brainwashed and she was
not able to escape. Now there are years of therapy ahead
of this young girl and the memories will never go away.
We
urge all parents to learn lessons from what has happened
… because not all kids are returned to their families!
- Be
wary of who you let into your home. It is admirable to
be socially responsible and help out someone who is less
fortunate than yourself. A better alternative when you
meet someone who is down on their luck is to give them
money so they can go to a motel, buy food, etc. By letting
strangers into your home and around your children, you
are open to many potential problems … problems that could
have serious consequences. We live in a very different
world today and therefore our actions must be for the
way we live today.
- If
you have a burglar alarm in your home, use it every night
and when your children are home.
- If
people are doing work in your home, keep distance between
them and your children. They’re in your home to work …
not to associate with your children.
- Educate
your children and enroll them in self-defense classes.
We
urge you to be aware! We also urge you to please contact
your legislators and ask them to adopt the AMBER Plan
in every state across America. The AMBER Plan must be used
in ALL child-abduction cases.
The
AMBER Plan is a voluntary partnership between law-enforcement
agencies and broadcasters to activate an urgent bulletin
in the most serious child-abduction cases. Broadcasters
use the Emergency Alert System (EAS), to air a description
of the abducted child and suspected abductor. The same concept
used is during severe weather emergencies. The goal of the
AMBER Alert is to instantly galvanize the entire community
to assist in the search for and safe return of the child.
The AMBER Alert has saved the lives of 49 children.
Take
Action!
Send more missing kids home: Tell your Representative to
co-sponsor the National Amber Alert Act!
Elizabeth
Smart is home and safe! We join her father, Ed Smart, in
calling for the passage of the National Amber Alert Network
Act. The U.S. House of Representatives is dragging its feet,
but your actions RIGHT NOW can make the difference … your
Representatives are listening.
Please
copy this letter and send it to your Representative and
other House Leaders, urging them to co-sponsor the National
Amber Alert Network Act TODAY:
Dear
I
am writing to join President Bush in calling for the passage
of the National Amber Alert Network Act.
In January, the Senate unanimously passed the National Amber
Alert Network Act of 2003 (S.121), sponsored by Senator
Kay Bailey Hutchinson. Last week, Congresswoman Jennifer
Dunn (R-WA) and Congressman Martin Frost (D-TX) afforded
the House of Representatives the same opportunity to protect
America's children by introducing a companion bill, the
National Amber Alert Act of 2003 (H.R. 412). I am asking
you to join over one hundred of your colleagues by becoming
a co-sponsor of this legislation.
Last year, the President hosted the first White House Conference
on Missing, Exploited, and Runaway Children to raise public
awareness about how we can make America's children safer.
At the conference, the President correctly identified the
Amber Alert Plan as being one of the most effective tools
available to keep our children safe. The Amber Alert is
a non-partisan tool for law enforcement and the public that
helps stop kidnappers of children.
We
have all seen how successful Amber Alerts have been. To
date, Amber Alerts have been credited with the recovery
of 44 children. Thanks to the work of the Polly Klaas Foundation
and other organizations, the number of states that have
implemented statewide Amber Alert Plans has risen from 14
to 37 in less than three months. However, our work is far
from done and we must not rest until a national network
of Amber Alerts is created so that law enforcement can use
Amber Alerts across state lines.
In
order to ensure that Amber Alert legislation is signed into
law this year, I strongly encourage you to become a co-sponsor
and urge the Judiciary Committee to send a clean bill to
the House floor by May 25, National Missing Children's Day.
For the 44 families whose children are back at home because
of the Amber Alert, and for the hundreds of families still
searching.
It
is critical to the security of America's children that National
Amber Alert legislation be signed into law soon. Every day
that a national Amber Alert system is not in place, is another
day that law enforcement and the public have inadequate
tools and resources needed to protect our children.
Sincerely,
Your Name
In
doing this you will be helping a missing child to be
found.
