Vermont Becomes First State to Call for Amendment that Would Remove Corporations From Constitution
MONTPELIER, VT – With yesterday’s vote in the state house, Vermont is
now the first state to call for an amendment to abolish the doctrine
known as “Corporate Personhood” which gives corporations constitutional
rights meant to protect people.
Hawaii and New Mexico have passed resolutions against the Citizens
United v. FEC ruling by the Supreme Court, but the Vermont resolution
goes beyond simply overturning that case and aims to remove corporations
from the constitution altogether and make clear that money is not
speech and that campaign spending and political contributions can be
regulated by government.
Support for the resolution in the state legislature comes from a
mandate set forth by Vermont’s citizens. Last month 65 town meetings
passed similar resolutions, calling on the legislators in the state to
stand up and urging Congress to send an amendment to the states for
ratification.
“Americans of all political persuasions are tired of the big money in
politics and tired of corporations running the country,” said David
Cobb, spokesperson for the Move to Amend coalition, a grassroots
national organization spearheading resolution efforts across the
country. “We salute the good people of Vermont for standing up first to
make clear that an amendment that addresses this issue at its core is
what’s needed now.”
While Vermont is the first state to clearly call for an end to
corporate constitutional rights, this is far from the first resolution
passed. Nearly half of the states have seen passage of resolutions at
the local level through city and county councils, and a handful of
cities have also passed measures using the initiative process. This week
Salt Lake City, Utah became the latest city to join the effort when
Move to Amend volunteers turned in 11,400 signatures collected in 60
days to qualify a resolution for the ballot in their town.
“Communities across the country are standing up to show their outrage
and to demand that their legislators pass an amendment to overrule the
Court,” stated Kaitlin Sopoci-Belknap, National Field Organizing
Director for Move to Amend. “We recognize that an amendment is a big
task, but Move to Amend’s volunteers are ready to rise to the
challenge.”
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Background on state resolution effort: The Vermonters Say
Corporations Are Not People partnership, which worked together on town
meeting proposals, also has worked to pass the resolutions at the state
legislative level. The effort includes Move to Amend; Public Citizen;
Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, a Move to Amend
affiliate; Vermont Peace & Justice Center; VPIRG; Ben Cohen and
Jerry Greenfield, founders of Ben & Jerry’s Homemade Inc.; Vermont
Businesses for Social Responsibility; Rural Vermont; Vermont Workers
Center; Common Cause Vermont; Occupy Burlington; Vermont Action for
Peace; and the Safe and Green Campaign.
Source: movetoamend