The growing grassroots democracy movement took
another huge step forward this week when Congressional Representatives Rick
Nolan (DFL-Minnesota) and Mark Pocan (D-Wisconsin) joined Move To Amend
coalition organizers Ben Manski and George "Leesa" Friday at the National Press
Club to announce that the " We the People
Amendment " was being introduced in Congress (H.J.Res. 29).
This amendment clearly and unequivocally states
that:
Section
1. [Only People Have Constitutional
Rights]
The
rights protected by the Constitution of the United States are the rights of
natural persons only.
Artificial
entities established by the laws of any State, the United States, or any
foreign state shall have no rights under this Constitution and are subject to
regulation by the People, through Federal, State, or local law.
The
privileges of artificial entities shall be determined by the People, through
Federal, State, or local law, and shall not be construed to be inherent or
inalienable.
Section
2. [Money is Not Free Speech]
Federal,
State, and local government shall regulate, limit, or prohibit contributions
and expenditures, including a candidate's own contributions and expenditures,
to ensure that all citizens, regardless of their economic status, have access
to the political process, and that no person gains, as a result of their money,
substantially more access or ability to influence in any way the election of
any candidate for public office or any ballot measure.
Federal,
State, and local government shall require that any permissible contributions
and expenditures be publicly disclosed.
The
judiciary shall not construe the spending of money to influence elections to be
speech under the First Amendment.
Lead sponsor Rep. Rick Nolan (DFL-Minnesota),
said: "It's time to take the shaping and molding of public policy out of
corporate boardrooms, away from the corporate lobbyists, and put it back in
city halls -- back with county boards and state legislatures -- and back in the
Congress where it belongs."
Ben Manski, a spokesperson for the Move to Amend
coalition agreed, saying: "Today, members of Congress join a movement that
insists on the fundamental equality of all Americans, and that rejects the idea
that the corporate class should have special protections against We the
People."
The Move to Amend Coalition was formed in
preparation for the Supreme Court's Citizens
United v FEC ruling in 2010. Today, the coalition boasts over 260,000
supporters, thousands of endorsing organizations, and has organized over 150
local affiliate across the country. These are groups who have formed in their
local communities to educate, agitate and organize in direct support of the
Move To Amend position that only people have constitutional rights and that
money is not free speech.
In a few short years this grassroots movement has
passed almost 500 resolutions in municipalities and local governments across
the country calling on the state and federal governments to adopt an amendment.
Deeper still, they have used the citizens
initiative process to place the issue squarely before the voters in dozens of cities
and counties, and have won every single
election! Most of those elections have been super-majorities, often winning
by more than 70%. These victories include areas traditionally considered
liberal, and other areas traditionally considered conservative.
"The movement transcends typical political
parties and labels," said George Friday. "The Move To Amend coalition is
multi-racial, includes rural and city folk, all united in the belief that we
need a social movement to create real
democracy, and to make the promise of democracy a reality in the United
States," she said.
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