I hope the people who sign the petition also write a letter to their congresscritter, or at least make a phonecall. A flood of letters will be much more effect

I hope the people who sign the petition also write a letter to their congresscritter, or at least make a phonecall. A flood of letters will be much more effective than any single petition. But what really needs to be done is ongoing education and active participation in the political process -- long term. And that means more than just voting once every 4 years, or signing the occasional petition.