What is "Move to Amend"?

Move To Amend is a national effort that seeks to pass a U.S. Constitutional Amendment that says

a corporation is not a person and money is not speech.

Move to Amend of South East Wisconsin

Updated 7/8/2013

   We are a grassroots group of citizens concerned that corporations have more influence on our government than We the People. We hope to influence our legislators through local referenda, on a national basis. We will ask in these referenda for a US Constitutional Amendment stating that corporations are not people and money is not speech, all this in response to the Jan. 2010 Citizens United Decision. That decision opened the floodgates to secret special interest money, making it very clear that the Supreme Court believes (in a close, 5-4 decision) that corporations are entitled to the rights of human beings (that a corporation is a person) and money is equivalent to speech, and further that money ("speech") cannot have limits put on it in certain forms of political vehicles, nor need there be any information given to the public, or anyone else, about the origin of the money.

   We feel this is anti-democratic in that it silences the voice of the People by drowning out our voices, and is destroying our democracy.

   A Constitutional Amendment is the step we need to take because the other 2 means of reversing a Supreme Court Decision are untenable: we cannot expect the Supreme Court itself to reverse its own decision, and with its subsequent decision on Montana's challenge to it, the Supreme Court showed they would not even consider discussing the issue and ruled against Montana's claim. Our Congress and Senate are too beholden or afraid of corporate power to defy them with a law. Besides, the Supreme Court would likely invalidate the new law. As a matter of fact, Citizens United did effectively gut the McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance Reform Law, very specifically.

   If enough thousands, even millions, of Americans demand a Constitutional Amendment, our legislators will have to listen to us, and will be able to give that as a reason to defy the corporate hucksters.

   WISCONSIN: Move to Amend of South East Wisconsin had its origin in Milwaukee in 2010, when a member of South Central Wisconsin Move to Amend came to speak to a local Women's International League for Peace and Freedom meeting, and 2 of us spoke up and decided to start a group here. Since then Madison and Dane County passed such a resolution, our own MTA of South East Wisconsin got a resolution passed in West Allis by 70% in a Republican Primary Presidential election, proving this is a non-partisan issue. Most recently, last month, Whitewater and the entire County of Chippewa, WI, passed resolutions with over 80% approval in both locations. United Wisconsin finisheda petition drive in Wauwatosa, with our help, today, July 10th, 2013. Five other municipalities in Wisconsin also have passed similar resolutions, over 500 have been passed in municipalities throughout the US.

   16 states have passed similar resolutions.

   We are loosely affiliated with the national Move to Amend movement, movetoamend.com. The national office provides coordination of events and ideas, and material support such as study materials, sample resolutions, news from around the country, and advice about organizing.

   Move to Amend South East Wisconsin is a non-profit organization; we have 501c3 status for educational purposes.