Rutland
posted
Sep 19, 2012
On Thursday, Sept. 27 from 7-9 p.m. The Vermont Move to Amend
group will host a community forum on "Creating Democracy and
Challenging Corporate Rule" with guest speaker David Cobb of the
Move to Amend campaign. Part history lesson and part heart-felt
call to action, the event will be at Grace UCC Church, Fellowship
Hall, 8 (Court Street, Rutland, Vt.)
The recent U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Citizens United v.
FEC opened the floodgates to unlimited corporate spending
on elections. Cobb, an attorney and organizer for the Move to
Amend coalition, will help local residents understand the history
behind the recent decision and how they can work to abolish
"Corporate Personhood" and reestablish a government of, by, and for
the people.
"Corporate Personhood" commonly refers to court-created
precedent that gives corporations constitutional rights intended
solely for human beings. "Corporate personhood is not an
inconsequential legal technicality. The Supreme Court ruled that a
corporation was a 'legal person' with 14th Amendment protections
before they granted full personhood to African-Americans,
immigrants, natives, or women," states David Cobb, a spokesperson
and an attorney helping to lead the coalition.
"We are inspired by historic social movements that recognized
the necessity of altering fundamental power relationships," said
Cobb.
"America has progressed through ordinary people joining
together-from the Revolutionaries to Abolitionists, Suffragists,
Trade Unionists, and Civil Rights activists through to today. Move
to Amend is a long-term effort to make the U.S. Constitution more
democratic."
The forum will focus on how Vermont can join the national
movement against Corporate Personhood. Cobb will provide
information about the issue and facilitate a discussion about local
action in Vermont and in communities across the United States to
win the amendment campaign through grassroots mobilization.
"We are a diverse coalition with deep roots in communities
nationwide. We recognize that amending the Constitution to
restore the power of the people over corporations will not be easy,
but we know correcting the Supreme Court is imperative to the
progress of our nation," stated Cobb.
Over 227,911 people have signed an online petition supporting a
constitutional amendment at www.MoveToAmend.org. For more
information call (707) 269-0984 or visit www.MoveToAmend.org.
