Corporations are not people, money is not speech: MOVE TO AMEND in New York

End the sale of law, elected officials, policy, government, democracy

Editing by Carolyn Bennett

From Steve Lupo and Lauren Carmichael of Move to Amend Brookhaven, New York

Supreme Court rulings opened the floodgates to unlimited, secret and unaccountable money flowing into U.S. political campaigns.

Corporations, unions, non-profits, foreign companies and/or governments, (anyone or any entity) can spend as much and whenever they want to support or disparage anonymously any U.S. political candidate.

Eighty percent of Americans of all political persuasions feel that court rulings on this matter have “put the U.S. government up for sale to the highest bidder.”

THEREFORE, PEOPLE IN U.S. CITIES AND TOWNS ARE MOVING TO AMEND

A

t 6:30 p.m. tomorrow (December 18, 2012), members of the Brookhaven Town Board “will have an opportunity to vote their support for a resolution calling for a 28th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States Constitution,” which declares:

Corporations are not people and 

money is not speech.

The Green Party of Suffolk has supported “Move to Amend Brookhaven” and with the board vote at Brookhaven, citizens will come to “know, unequivocally, where each member stands on the issue of ‘Money in Politic$.’” 

The issue is non-partisan. The thought process behind resolutions across the country is this.

We come together to affirm that democracy should not be for sale!

Thousands of communities across the nation establishing their support for the amendment affirm an issue which can no longer be ignored by federal and state elected officials.

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OVE TO AMEND COALITION

“Move to Amend” was formed September 2009 and is a coalition of hundreds of organizations, tens of thousands of individuals committed to social and economic justice, ending corporate rule, and building a vibrant democracy that is genuinely accountable to the people ─ not corporate interests.

“Move to Amend” calls for an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to unequivocally state that inalienable rights belong to human beings only and that money is not a form of protected free speech under the First Amendment to the Constitution; and that money political campaigns can be regulated.

Statement of Values

Move to Amend reserves the right to disassociate with any organization or individual who fails to maintain its stated values.

A broad coalition of organizations and individuals sharing common values, working together to end corporate personhood and demand real democracy, Move to Amend welcomes organizations and individuals who embrace:

• Accountability and responsibility, personally and organizationally      
• Transparency
• Community
• Movement building
• Dedication to the mission, goals and tactics of Move to Amend
• Commitment to anti-oppression within self, communities, work places, policies, and representation

Sources and notes

“A local Green Party part of ‘Move To Amend’ action in Long Island, New York” (by Kimberly Wilder), https://movetoamend.org/ny-brookhaven

Move to Amend, https://movetoamend.org/about-us

Brookhaven

The Town of Brookhaven (pop. 486,040 at the 2010 census) is the largest town (by area, if including water area) in the state of New York and the second most populous, exceeded only by the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County.

Located in central Suffolk County (one of ten towns in Suffolk County), the Town of Brookhaven is part of the New York metropolitan area and the only town in the county that stretches from the North Shore to the South Shore of Long Island [Wikipedia note].

Citizens United

Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (558 U.S. 310, 2010) was a case in which the United States Supreme Court held that the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution prohibits the government from restricting independent political expenditures by corporations and unions.

The nonprofit group Citizens United wanted to air a film critical of Hillary Rodham Clinton and to advertise the film during television broadcasts in apparent violation of the 2002 Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (commonly known as the McCain–Feingold Act or ‘BCRA’).

In a 5–4 decision, the Court held that portions of BCRA §203 violated the First Amendment [Wikipedia note].

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