How North Dakota State Representative Karla Rose Hanson uses social media to build public trust

I'm going to limit myself to not more than two North Dakota-related blog posts on The Progressive Midwesterner this year, but this is a blog post that I would encourage elected officials from across the country to read, as they may be able to learn how to use social media more effectively as an elected official.

North Dakota State Representative Karla Rose Hanson (DNPL-Fargo), the Assistant Minority Leader of the North Dakota House of Representatives, has proposed, as of this writing, five bills in the current session of the North Dakota State Legislature. Two of Hanson's bills are proposals to have the North Dakota State Legislature meet annually instead of every two years. One of Hanson's bills would, if it were to become law, implement a pretrial services pilot program in three of North Dakota's judicial districts. Another of Hanson's bills would allow North Dakota taxpayers to voluntarily contribute to a veterans' services fund. Another of Hanson's bills is a proposed "red flag law", which would allow for public safety protection orders in North Dakota.

I'm going to use how Hanson announced her proposal to implement a red flag law in North Dakota as an example of how Hanson uses social media, in this case, Twitter, to explain a legislative proposal and help build public trust:

Yesterday I introduced House Bill 1537, which would establish Public Safety Protection Orders in ND - colloquially known as red flag laws. This will prevent suicide, avert school shootings, ensure officer safety & serve as a tool for families concerned about Alzheimers.

— Karla Rose Hanson (@karlarosehanson) January 15, 2019

There is strong due process - which means the court is involved at every step. This is a civil process, not a criminal one. And it's less restrictive than an involuntary commitment - which has long-term restrictions on firearm ownership.

— Karla Rose Hanson (@karlarosehanson) January 15, 2019

Big thanks to the workgroup of law enforcement leaders, prosecutors, school safety advocates, suicide prevention advocates & domestic violence advocates who wrote the bill with me & thanks to ND Police Chiefs Assoc, the ND Assoc of SROs, @NDUnited and @NDDPI for their support.

— Karla Rose Hanson (@karlarosehanson) January 15, 2019

Karla Rose Hanson has the ability to be able to explain legislative proposals, even complex legislative proposals, in terms that people who aren't familiar with how a legislative body operates or how public policy is formulated can understand. If there were more elected officials in this country who could do that, our country would be a lot better off.

You can follow Representative Hanson on Twitter here.