RockAndSage
WKR
Sometime after 9/11 they started getting irradiated to kill off biological weapons like anthrax, not sure if they still do. However, the snail mail is still delivered. Most offices do genuinely take constituent letters seriously, but it takes mass and individuation to get their attention. If someone threw out a letter from a constituent though, they would almost certainly be fired.
Another effective approach is to reach out to your Congressman's district office, with a phone call. If you try to call the DC office, you'll almost always get a Staff Assistant taking your call (most junior person in the office, with zero legislative or policy responsibilities), and at best your call will be directed to the relevant Legislative Assistant's voicemail. DC people can be hit or miss, depending on their individual mentality, and will have DC things be their primary concern. But district staff tend to be much more personable, and far more in-touch with the constituency. They're also far more open to building contacts and relationships with constituents.
If you call the district office, ask, "Who's your district staffer that handles firearms issues, or judiciary committee stuff?"
They'll often take your call, and will be very inclined to call you back if you end up going to voicemail. They have more time they can dedicate to you as well. If you're friendly, and try to build a connection, it's much easier to make happen. Each district staffer generally covers a set of issues, and are predominantly concerned with "constituent services", like helping people out with Federal government problems. This means they have a DC staffer they coordinate with.
Building a connection with the district staffer on this issue will definitely help it get to the attention of the DC staff, and both sets of staff will have the ear of the Member of Congress when in town. If you have a friendly call, you can also ask the district staffer for the name of the DC staffer who handles guns/judiciary, and then just call the DC office and ask for that person. You'll still go to their voicemail, but you can say that you got their name from the district staffer (drop their name) and that you wanted to hear from the Congressman's legislative staff on his position on this bill. You're more likely to get their attention if that name is dropped, and it seems like you are genuinely trying to both work with them and that it isn't just a rando screech about something.
Above all though, keep it friendly and focus on building connection.
