PETITION CLOSED

  • The time period for signing this petition has ended.
  1. Signatures
    115 out of 10,000
    Petitioning
    1. United States Congress
  2. Created By
    Lisa Humphrey
    Trenton, TN
About this Petition Petition Letter Petition Updates

Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt) has proposed a Constitutional Amendment that overturns the Citizens United Supreme Court decision and prohibits corporations from exercising the same rights as American citizens through free speech and campaign donations.

Sanders' Saving American Democracy Amendment would make clear that corporations are not entitled to the same constitutional rights as people and that corporations may be regulated by Congress and state legislatures. It also would preserve the First Amendment guarantee of freedom of the press. It would incorporate a century-old ban on corporate campaign donations to candidates, and establish broad authority for Congress and states to regulate spending in elections.

To read a FAQ sheet about the amendment, click here:  http://sanders.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Constitutional%20Amendment%20FAQs.pdf

To read the actual text of the amendment, click here:  http://sanders.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/S.J.Res..pdf

Why People Are Signing
Recent Signatures

Vote in favor of the Saving American Democracy Amendment

Greetings,

My signature below expresses my wholehearted support of Senator Bernie Sanders’ proposed Constitutional Amendment to overturn the U.S. Supreme Court decision in the Citizens United case and prohibit corporate rights as citizens and their ability to donate to election campaign funds.

Corporations are not “natural persons” and the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in the Citizens United case gives corporations the privileges enjoyed by citizens of the United States without holding them to the duties of citizenship, nor can they be held to the same punishment for violations of the law that citizens are. You cannot put a corporation in jail. A corporation cannot serve in our armed forces. And it should not be allowed to affect elections through contributions to campaign funds.

Individuals who are part of any corporation and are citizens of the United States already have the same rights as other citizens. They should not be doubly represented by a corporation as well. They already have free speech rights; they have no need to obtain the right of free speech through a corporation. By the same token, individuals who are part of a corporation in the U.S. but are not citizens of the U.S. should not be allowed to influence our elections through a corporation, either through free speech or through campaign donations.

The Citizens United decision has made the average American feel that each citizen is not equally represented in our political system, and only those with money can truly have an effect on our government. This country was founded on the principal that all of its citizens are equal. Allowing some citizens to increase their influence through political contributions via a corporation flagrantly violates this basic rule of equality that is one of our Constitution’s vital premises. To the average citizen, the Citizens United decision shows that America can indeed be bought and sold.

So we, the true citizens of the United States, are now uniting to ask that our Congress uphold the principal of equal citizenship that our country was founded upon and cast their vote in favor of the Saving American Democracy Amendment.

Sincerely,

[Your name]

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