The American Legion Department of California and 20 state commanders of the California State Commanders Veterans Council (CSCVC) submitted a letter to the Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office, requesting the administration reopen our veteran halls and posts. As some have a restrictive veterans’ liquor license, our posts have been misclassified as “bars” and have been closed since March.
Our posts serve a critical role in connecting veterans to essential services and benefits such as healthcare, mental health services, education and job training. Since the posts have been shut down, there has been a decrease in claims for veteran disability and pension benefits – totaling millions of unclaimed dollars in just eight months of closure.
The misclassification of posts puts us at the back of the line for reopening, and puts access to services further out of reach for many veterans. There has been great press attention on this issue, including radio interviews, news articles and TV stations coming out to posts in Sacramento, Los Angeles and Palm Springs to hear our veterans’ perspectives.
But we need to keep up the pressure!
Please help reopen our posts by sending a message to the California governor today!
To send an email to the governor:
- Use the sample email below to send your own email to the governor. Feel free to add additional information on your own post and the valuable services it offers to veterans of your community.
- Send the email to: Melissa.Immel@gov.ca.gov and CC: dana.nichol@sbcglobal.net
Thank you for your support – please contact us with any questions on this issue or on the submission process.
SAMPLE EMAIL TO GOVERNOR:
Dear Governor Newsom,
I join veterans across California in urging you to allow California veterans posts to reopen safely. Re-opening posts will enable them to resume providing essential services to veterans.
Veterans posts have been erroneously classified as “bars” due to their membership-only, restrictive liquor license. Due to this misclassification, our halls and posts will be some of the last to open, despite the critical role that our posts serve in connecting our state’s veterans with the benefits and services they need.
Supporting the state’s veterans is more important than ever. In these difficult times, our veterans’ posts are a lifeline for those of us that have served, providing essential services for veterans in their communities. Posts have veteran service officers that help veterans navigate and apply for their benefits, such as healthcare and mental health services. They also have resources for job training, education services and retirement benefits. Since March, posts have seen a significant decrease in claims for veteran disability and pension benefits – totaling millions of unclaimed dollars in just 8 months of closure.
[If you can, add details here with your organization’s post situation, and the type of valuable services that they provide veterans in your community. Otherwise, delete this paragraph.]
Reopening posts safely will enable California’s veteran service organizations to resume providing essential and much-needed services for veterans and their families.
Thank you,
NAME
Military affiliation
Author: Seth Reeb
Seth Reeb of Reeb Government Relations is veterans legislative advocate for the American Legion Department of California and a member of El Dorado Post 119.
