Fight Citizens United - Call Your Assembly Members to Support Constitutional Amendment [UPDATE: It Passed]

There's a resolution before the Anchorage Assembly tonight.  It would support a Constitutional amendment to counter Citizens United, the US Supreme Court decision which allowed for unlimited money in US elections from corporations.

There are conflicting views on the effectiveness (and unintended consequences) of this proposed Amendment, but it seems to be the leading contender to push back the effects of Citizens United.

Here's the FAQ page of the website of Move To Amend, the organization sponsoring this around the country.

The ACLU supported Citizens United in the Supreme Court.  Here's what they say about it on their website.  

HERE'S TONIGHT'S RESOLUTION:    (I put the actual Amendment in red)

1. A RESOLUTION OF THE ANCHORAGE MUNICIPAL ASSEMBLY
2. 2  SUPPORTING AND CALLING FOR AN AMENDMENT TO THE CONSTITUTION
3. 3  OF THE UNITED STATES TO ADDRESS ISSUES THAT RESULTED FROM
4. 4  COURT DECISIONS SUCH AS THE UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT’S
5. 5  DECISION IN CITIZENS UNITED v. FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION.

6 7

8. 8  WHEREAS the heart of democracy is the right of human beings to govern
9. 9  themselves, and the United States is the first and foremost democracy since the days of
10. 10  ancient Greece; and

11

12. 12  WHEREAS the founding documents of the United States, the Declaration of
13. 13  Independence and the Constitution, recognize that human beings have certain inalienable
14. 14  rights; and

15

16. 16  WHEREAS the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution
17. 17  do not mention or grant any rights to corporations or to any artificial entities other than the
18. 18  United States of America and its constituent States; and

19

20. 20  WHEREAS corporations and other artificial entities are not and never have been
21. 21  human beings, and are only entitled to the legal powers and protections that the People
22. 22  grant to them; and

23

24. 24  WHEREAS recent judicial decisions, including the United States Supreme Court
25. 25  decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, 130 S.Ct. 876, 558 U.S. 310
26. 26  (2010), have held that corporations and other artificial entities are “persons” under the
27. 27  United States Constitution with a constitutional right to spend as much money as they wish
28. 28  on political speech, thereby greatly expanding the power of corporations and other
29. 29  artificial entities to influence elections and otherwise undermine the power of the People to
30. 30  govern themselves; and

31

32. 32  WHEREAS when freedom of speech is equated with freedom to spend money, the
33. 33  free speech of 99 percent of the People is overwhelmed by the messages of the few who
34. 34  are able to spend millions of dollars to influence the political process; and

35

36. 36  WHEREAS respected national political polls show that large majorities of the
37. 37  People from all parts of the political spectrum believe that corporations and other artificial
38. 38  entities have too much power in our political system; and

39

40. 40  WHEREAS we the People are supreme, and have the power to overrule the
41. 41  Supreme Court through a constitutional amendment; and

42

AR supporting Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Page 2 of 2 to address effects of the Citizens United decision

WHEREAS over 800 municipalities and local governments, and 19 state governments, have already passed resolutions calling for an amendment to the United States Constitution to address the types of issues identified above;

NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Anchorage Assembly supports, and calls for, an amendment to the United States Constitution, establishing that:

Section 1. The United States Constitution does not create or grant or protect any constitutional rights for corporations or other artificial entities; and
Section 2. That money is not speech, and that the government has the right to enact statutes and regulations governing the expenditure of money to influence elections and political decision making, to the end that all voices and opinions of the People can be expressed and heard.

The Municipal Clerk is directed to deliver copies of this resolution to the Anchorage delegation to the Alaska Legislature and to Alaska’s delegation to the United States Congress.
PASSED AND APPROVED by the Anchorage Assembly this ____ day of ______________, 20____.


This is the most organized effort to blunt the effects of the Citizens United decision.  While it won't solve the campaign finance problems completely, and it raises some free speech questions, I think it forces the debate to a higher profile.  That's worth supporting this.  


Here's a list of Assembly members' email addresses.

If you don't know who your Assembly members are (most people have two), here's a map of the districts.  For more precise maps you can click on each district:  ( District 1) ( District 2) ( District 3) ( District 4) ( District 5) ( District 6)

Even if you don't want to call or attend the meeting tonight, you should at least know who your Assembly members are.  

[UPDATE Dec 22, 2018:  I'm told it passed with little or no comment.]