www.MoveToAmend.org ~ signed by 78,758 and counting…
www.MoveToAmend.org ~ signed by 78,758 and counting…
www.MoveToAmend.org ~ signed by 78,758 and counting…
www.MoveToAmend.org ~ signed by 78,758 and counting…
www.MoveToAmend.org ~ signed by 78,758 and counting…
www.MoveToAmend.org ~ signed by 78,758 and counting…
www.MoveToAmend.org ~ signed by 78,758 and counting…
www.MoveToAmend.org ~ signed by 78,758 and counting…
www.MoveToAmend.org ~ signed by 78,758 and counting…
www.MoveToAmend.org ~ signed by 78,758 and counting…
www.MoveToAmend.org ~ signed by 78,758 and counting…
www.MoveToAmend.org ~ signed by 78,758 and counting…
www.MoveToAmend.org
Signed by 78,758
and counting…
On January 21, 2010, with its ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, the
Supreme Court ruled that corporations are persons, entitled by the U.S. Constitution to buy
elections and run our government. Human beings are people; corporations are legal fictions. The
Supreme Court is misguided in principle, and wrong on the law. In a democracy, the people rule.
We Move to Amend.
We, the People of the United States of America, reject the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Citizens
United, and move to amend our Constitution to:
• Firmly establish that money is not speech, and that human beings, not corporations, are persons
entitled to constitutional rights.
• Guarantee the right to vote and to participate, and to have our votes and participation count.
• Protect local communities, their economies, and democracies against illegitimate "preemption"
actions by global, national, and state governments.
Welcome and thank you for coming!
• Introductions
• Thank You to Event Sponsors
o Earthcare International
o Santa Fe Alliance
o New Energy Economy
www.MoveToAmend.org ~ signed by 78,758 and counting…
Please introduce yourselves…
(1 minute each)
• Your name
• Why is this issue important to you?
• What is the most important question you bring to
this meeting?
www.MoveToAmend.org ~ signed by 78,758 and counting…
Today’s Agenda
• Presentation (30 min)
o Citizens United
o Corporate Constitutional Rights (Corporate
Personhood)
o Campaign to Legalize Democracy
• Question & Answer (20 min)
• Take Action: What Should We Do? (90 min)
www.MoveToAmend.org ~ signed by 78,758 and counting…
Citizens United v. FEC
• Overturned McCain Feingold
• 24 states campaign finance laws now in jeopardy of
being overturned as “Unconstitutional”
• Legalizes corporate bribery/extortion
• Most recent and blatant time the Court has explicitly
offered rationale for “Corporate Constitutional Rights”
(Corporate Personhood)
www.MoveToAmend.org ~ signed by 78,758 and counting…
Definition of “Democracy”
From Greek:
Demos (the people) + Kratia (power) =
the people rule
www.MoveToAmend.org ~ signed by 78,758 and counting…
U.S. CONSTITUTION
We the People
Government
Free & Sovereign
Subordinate & Accountable
Individual Rights
Collective Duties
Private
Public
CORPORATIONS
www.MoveToAmend.org ~ signed by 78,758 and counting…
Corporate Personhood, Some Examples…
Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific
Railroad [1886] Though the court did not make a
ruling on the question of “corporate personhood”
(whether 14th Amendment covered corporations),
the decision subsequently was cited as precedent to
hold that a private corporation was a "natural
person." Justices have since struck down hundreds
of local, state and federal laws enacted to protect
people from corporate harm based on this
illegitimate premise.
www.MoveToAmend.org ~ signed by 78,758 and counting…
Corporate Personhood, Some Examples…
Hale v. Henkel [1906] Corporations get 4th
Amendment “search and seizure” protection. Justice
Harlan disagreed on this point: “...the power of the
government, by its representatives, to look into the
books, records and papers of a corporation of its
own creation, to ascertain whether that corporation
has obeyed or is defying the law, will be greatly
curtailed, if not destroyed.”
www.MoveToAmend.org ~ signed by 78,758 and counting…
Corporate Personhood, Some Examples…
Pennsylvania Coal Co. v. Mahon [1922]
Corporations get 5th Amendment “takings clause”:
“...nor shall private property be taken for public use,
without just compensation.” A regulation is deemed a
takings.
www.MoveToAmend.org ~ signed by 78,758 and counting…
Corporate Personhood, Some Examples…
Louis K. Liggett Co. v. Lee [1933] The people of
Florida passed a law that levied higher taxes on
chain stores. The Supreme Court overturned the law
citing the due process and equal protection clause of
the 14th Amendment and the Interstate Commerce
clause.
www.MoveToAmend.org ~ signed by 78,758 and counting…
Corporate Personhood, Some Examples…
Buckley v. Valeo [1976] The Supreme Court rules
that political money is equivalent to speech. This
ruling expanded the First Amendment’s protections
to include financial contributions to candidates or
parties.
www.MoveToAmend.org ~ signed by 78,758 and counting…
Corporate Personhood, Some Examples…
First National Bank of Boston v. Bellotti
[1977] The First Amendment is used to overturn
state restrictions on corporate spending on political
referenda. The Court reverses its longstanding
policy of denying such rights to non-media business
corporations. This precedent is used, with Buckley v.
Valeo, to thwart attempts to remove corporate
money from politics.
www.MoveToAmend.org ~ signed by 78,758 and counting…
Corporate Personhood, Some Examples…
International Dairy Foods Association v.
Amestoy [1996] Supreme Court overturns a
Vermont law requiring the labeling of all products
containing bovine growth hormone. The right not to
speak inheres in political and commercial speech
alike and extends to statements of fact as well as
statements of opinion.
www.MoveToAmend.org ~ signed by 78,758 and counting…
For the complete story of how
corporations became “persons” see
the Timeline of Personhood
Rights and Powers
http://wilpf.org/docs/ccp/corp/ACP/CP_art
icle%2Btimeline.pdf
www.MoveToAmend.org ~ signed by 78,758 and counting…
U.S. CONSTITUTION
We the People
Government
Free & Sovereign
Subordinate & Accountable
Individual Rights
Collective Duties
Private
Public
CORPORATIONS
www.MoveToAmend.org ~ signed by 78,758 and counting…
When corporations can legally
claim the Constitutional rights of
a “person”…
…democracy is illegal!
www.MoveToAmend.org ~ signed by 78,758 and counting…
Move to Amend Steering Committee
• Alliance for Democracy
• American Friends Service Committee
(North East Ohio)
• Black Agenda Report
• California Student Sustainability
Coalition
• Independent Progressive Politics
Network
• Liberty Tree Foundation for the
Democratic Revolution
• National Lawyers Guild
• Center for Media & Democracy
• Program on Corporations, Law &
Democracy
• Community Voices Heard
• Progressive Democrats of America
• Democracy Unlimited
• Reclaim Democracy
• Detroit Women of Color
• Ultimate Civics
• Direct Action for Rights and Equality
• Women’s International League for
Peace & Freedom
• Green Institute
And endorsed by over 60 other organizations.
www.MoveToAmend.org ~ signed by 78,758 and counting…
Our Demands
• Abolish Corporate Personhood
• Establish that money is not speech
• Guarantee the right to vote and to participate, and
to have our votes and participation count
• Protect local communities, their economies, and
democracies against control and domination by
large corporations
www.MoveToAmend.org ~ signed by 78,758 and counting…
Move to Amend Campaign
• Take our inspiration from past social movements
(American Revolutionaries, Abolitionists,
Suffragists, Civil Rights Movement, Second
Wave Feminism)
• We’re not asking our government, we’re building
a movement with ordinary Americans like ourselves
– and you!
www.MoveToAmend.org ~ signed by 78,758 and counting…
Move to Amend Campaign
• Commitment to anti-oppression and taking
leadership from people of color, low-income
communities, youth and women.
• Our commitment is working! The National Steering
Committee is multi-racial and multi-ethnic, genderbalanced, and represents every geographical area of
the country. We’re not just speaking for the grassroots,
we are the grassroots!
www.MoveToAmend.org ~ signed by 78,758 and counting…
Local Communities are primary actors
• 4th of July Day of Action:
Creative education/street theater
Let our community know about the
campaign through art and
creativity!
www.MoveToAmend.org ~ signed by 78,758 and counting…
Local Communities are primary actors
Politicizing this issue in 2010
elections and beyond
• Candidate survey published to press
• Bird-dogging candidates to take position
• Running people for office ourselves
www.MoveToAmend.org ~ signed by 78,758 and counting…
Local Communities are primary actors
Municipal Civil Disobedience
• Passing City/County Resolutions in support of
campaign
• Local Ordinance(s) calling for Amendment and
outlawing Corporate Personhood
• States refusing to give up campaign finance
laws – ignoring Citizens United
www.MoveToAmend.org ~ signed by 78,758 and counting…
Conversation Guidelines
• Listen as if your life depended on it
• Speak to what matters to you (succinctly)
• Share “air time”
• Let people finish their thoughts (i.e., do not
interrupt)
• Encourage everyone to contribute
www.MoveToAmend.org ~ signed by 78,758 and counting…
Discussion:
What stood out for you in the presentation
(on both Corporate Personhood
and the Campaign)?
What are your questions?
www.MoveToAmend.org ~ signed by 78,758 and counting…
Discussion:
Drawing on inspiration from the social
movements that speak to you most, what
do you think we should do – in Santa
Fe/Northern NM and across the country – to
win this campaign and legalize democracy in
the United States of America?
www.MoveToAmend.org ~ signed by 78,758 and counting…
Working Groups
• 4th of July Day of Action
• Electoral Politics/Candidate Elections
• Municipal resolutions
• ? (your ideas here)
• ? (your ideas here)
www.MoveToAmend.org ~ signed by 78,758 and counting…
Break Out Groups:
Develop action plan proposal to move
your tactic forward…
Assign someone to take notes and collect
contact info from everyone in your group who
wants to stay involved.
(45 minutes)
www.MoveToAmend.org ~ signed by 78,758 and counting…
Report Backs
• What were the highlights of your
discussion?
• How can other people get involved
with your working group’s efforts going
forward?
(30 minutes)
www.MoveToAmend.org ~ signed by 78,758 and counting…
Next Steps…
 Working groups?
 Sign the Petition at www.MoveToAmend.org
 Tell your friends!
www.MoveToAmend.org ~ signed by 78,758 and counting…
Earth Care International
www.earthcare.org
(505) 983-6896
Santa Fe Alliance
www.santafealliance.com
(505) 989-5362
New Energy Economy
www.newenergyeconomy.org
(505) 989-7262
www.MoveToAmend.org ~ signed by 78,758 and counting…
Move to Amend Campaign
www.MoveToAmend.org
“Move to Amend” on Facebook
Democracy Unlimited
www.DUHC.org
(707) 269-0984
“The Duck House/Democray Unlimited” on
Facebook
www.MoveToAmend.org ~ signed by 78,758 and counting…