We are committed activists and volunteers working in coordination with the national movement to amend the Constitution known as Move to Amend.
Corporations are not people, and money is not speech. We believe the U.S. Constitution must be amended to explicitly state those truths so that wealthy corporations that currently overpower our governments with a torrent of money can become subject to the will and the power of the people to govern themselves.
We are seeking signatures to a petition to place on the November 2012 ballot an initiative that asks voters in Salt Lake City to endorse the idea of amending the Constitution so that corporations are not people, and money is not speech. This same effort is happening in 50 cities across the US. In coming years, initiatives will be placed on statewide election ballots.
We know that this task is tremendous and the path will be long and difficult, and yet we are goals encompass even more than an amendment to the Constitution. We believe an amendment would be a crucial first step--not a final destination--in our pursuit to put people in control of crony capitalists. We are democracy activists, fighting against our current government made of corporations, run by corporations, for the betterment of corporations. We seek a government that is truly of, by and for the people.
Our initiative petition states:
RESOLVED, the People of Salt Lake City, Utah, stand with the Move to Amend campaign and cities and counties across the country to defend democracy from the corrupting effects of undue corporate power by amending the United States Constitution to establish that:
- Only human beings, not corporations, are endowed with constitutional rights, and,
- Money is not speech, and therefore regulating political contributions and spending is not equivalent to limiting political speech.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the People of Salt Lake City, Utah, hereby instruct our state and federal representatives to enact resolutions and legislation to advance this effort.
