U.P. woman sends check for ‘thoughts and prayers’ to congressman

A Michigan woman has sparked an outpouring of checks for the campaigns of members of Congress opposed to any restrictions on firearms after Wednesday’s rampage at a Florida school.

Fern Malila, of Ontonagon, Mich., on the Upper Peninsula, wrote a check to her congressman after he tweeted his reaction to the massacre, sending “thoughts and prayers.”

So Malila sent hers, too.

“I did it because I’m hearing the same arguments after each and every time this happens,” Malila said on Friday. “Each and every news media person says contact your congressman, and Congress doesn’t do anything.”

Her idea caught on quickly.

“Maybe it’s because people just feel that it’s something they can do and hopefully make some little difference,” she said. “For whatever reason, it has struck a chord.”