Reversing Citizens United isn’t enough

PRESS RELEASE

For release on January 21, 2025

Contacts: Greg Coleridge, [email protected], 216-255-21840 | Cole Bennett, [email protected], 404-783-1362

Reversing Citizens United isn’t enough
National group calls for “Legalizing Democracy” by abolishing “corporate personhood” and money defined as free speech on 15th anniversary of Supreme Court decision

Move to Amend is calling for an intensive congressional and grassroots effort to pass a constitutional amendment to end corporate constitutional rights and the doctrine that money spent in elections equals free speech.

The group, a national coalition of hundreds of endorsing organizations and over one half-million supporters, was launched on January 21, 2010; the same day that the Supreme Court ruled on the Citizens United v FEC decision that expanded the constitutional rights of corporations and wealthy individuals to spend money to influence elections. The ruling, widely regarded as one of the most detrimental rulings in American history, has resulted in an unprecedented flood of special interest money from corporate entities and the ultra-wealthy into political campaigns, fundamentally altering the landscape of U.S. elections and politics.

Move to Amend has worked since its inception to pass the We the People Amendment, a constitutional amendment to not simply overturn Citizens United, but also to reverse the scores of Supreme Court rulings that affirmed that a corporation is a legal person and that money spent in political elections is equivalent to free speech under the First Amendment.

It’s a myth that “corporate” personhood and money as free speech began with Citizens United. The Supreme Court decision of “money equals free speech” predates Citizens United by more than four decades (i.e. the 1976 Buckley v. Valeo decision) and “corporate constitutional rights” (the 1886 Santa Clara v. Southern Pacific Railroad decision) by more than a century. 

“There was no democratic paradise before Citizens United,” stated Greg Coleridge, Move to Amend Co-Director. “Think of the failed efforts to hold banking corporations accountable for making risky loans and misrepresenting the quality of loans that led to the 2007-09 Great Recession, the ongoing decades-long failure to convert to renewable energy sources to ensure a livable world in the face of political pressure from fossil fuel corporations, and the never-ending quest to counter the power of insurance corporations opposed to creating an affordable, comprehensive and universal health care system.  Corporations and the super rich had much greater political power than the average person prior to 2010. Citizens United only reduced some of the legal hurdles for the super wealthy and corporate entities to gain greater political influence,” said Coleridge.

Moreover, Citizens United expanded only one corporate constitutional right – the corporate constitutional right to spend/invest money in elections. There are numerous other never-intended Court-granted rights that continue to threaten the health, safety, welfare and self-rule of people and communities. These include the First Amendment right not to speak, Fourth Amendment search and seizure, Fifth Amendment takings and Fourteenth Amendment due process and equal protection rights. 

These corporate constitutional rights would remain untouched if only Citizens United is reversed. It’s why Move to Amend works to enact the We the People Amendment.

To commemorate the Citizens United anniversary and underscore the fact that its reversal is insufficient to create anything approaching an authentic democracy local Move to Amend supporters will visit congressional offices around the country to speak with local staff and to deliver a letter urging the their congressional representative  to become an original co-sponsor of the We the People Amendment when it is reintroduced in the 119th Session of Congress by Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) in the near future. 

“As we mark 15 years of this disastrous decision,” said Cole Bennett, Move to Amend Co-Director. “It is essential to recognize that the problems of money in politics and corporate influence are not new. The ruling merely intensified existing trends that have distorted the political process for decades. Solutions must be proportionate in scale to problems to make a difference. Creating an authentic democracy is not possible by simply reversing Citizens United. We must legalize democracy by enacting the We the People Amendment,” said Bennett.

#

Ninety U.S. Representatives supported the We the People Amendment in the last House session. More than 700 municipalities and 8 states have passed resolutions or ballot initiatives declaring that a corporation is not a person and money is not free speech

# 30 #

Volunteer Sign the Motion to Amend Donate