TKC BREAKING NEWS!!! CITY COUNCIL CONSIDERS CORPORATE FREE SPEECH ORDINANCE FROM THE OCCUPY KANSAS CITY "MOVE TO AMEND" CROWD!!!

There's a rather "progressive" bit of legislation in front of the City Council this week.

Check it . . .

THE OCCUPY KC AND MOVE TO AMEND CROWD HOPE THAT THE CITY COUNCIL WILL PASS A RESOLUTION AIMED AT DISPROVING THE NOTION THAT CORPORATIONS ARE PEOPLE!!!

This is part of the national "move to amend" meme that still going strong in the aftermath of the "Occupy" movement.



"Move to Amend" was a major talking point of the Occupy KC crowd as well and some of these same supporters are taking part in this much more successful effort to influence local politics.

Take a look @ Kansas City Legislation #120527

Title: "Expressing the City of Kansas City’s support of the efforts of Move to Amend to reverse the impact of the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision."

Now check the money line from the resolution:

BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF KANSAS CITY:

Section 1. That the people of Kansas City, Missouri, stand with communities across the country to defend democracy from the corrupting effects of undue corporate power by supporting an amendment to the United States Constitution to establish that:

1. Only human beings, not corporations, are endowed with constitutional rights; and

2. Money is not speech, and therefore regulating political contributions and spending is not equivalent to limiting political speech.
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Here's the presser from the Kansas City Move To Amend folks . . .

City Council of Kansas City to Vote on Resolution To Amend the US Constitution

Amendment Needed to Overturn U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens United Ruling

Kansas City MO Citizens will hold a public Press Conference and hope to celebrate the City Council’s approval of a resolution designed to curb corporate power in elections which is scheduled for a vote on June 14, 2012.

The resolution is one of more than 200 that have been passed since the Citizens United ruling in 2010, one of more than 100 passed since March. The effort is being organized by the Kansas City affiliate of Move To Amend—a national coalition of organizations formed in response to the Citizens United ruling.

“I am pleased to join elected officials across the country in sponsoring a resolution to support the efforts of Move to Amend to reverse the impact of the Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. The resolutions are sponsored by Republican, Democratic, and Non-partisan elected officials who are concerned about the detrimental impact of allowing unlimited political contributions by corporations, unions, and other unidentified interest groups. Regulating political contributions and spending does not limit free speech but provides a transparent process that is critical to protecting the integrity of campaigns,” says sponsoring Councilwoman, Jan Marcason. Since the Citizens United ruling, record amounts of money have been spent in races throughout the country.

Kansas City is part of a growing movement in which city councils, from Los Angeles and New York, to Duluth, Minn., and South Miami, Fla., are calling for a constitutional amendment to curb corporate influence over elections. In addition, voters have approved similar ballot initiatives in cities such as Missoula, Mont., West Allis, Wis., and Boulder, Colo. State legislatures in Hawaii, Maryland, Rhode Island, Vermont and New Mexico have called for an amendment as well, and similar resolutions have been introduced in 25 states, including Kansas.

Volunteers for KC Move to Amend will encourage the city council to pass the resolution by delivering petitions with several thousand signatures of Kansas City residents to the Finance, Governance and Ethics Committee at 8:30AM on June 13, 2012. Dozens of volunteers have spoken with thousands of area people about the facts of the disastrous Citizens United ruling.

The Press Conference and celebration will be at 7:15PM, Thursday, June 14, 2012 at All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church--4501 Walnut Street, Kansas City MO.

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