Free the People from Corporate Rule Day of Action!

FREE the People from Corporate Rule!
ACTION NEEDED – August 28th – 12-1:30 pm

Henry M. Jackson Federal Building
915 2nd Ave, Seattle, WA 98104

Speakers will include:
Rachel Berkson – District Director for Pramila Jayapal
Linda Brewster – Chair of Fix Democracy First
Hillary Haden – Washington Fair Trade Coalition
Georgia Davenport – Whole Washington
Rich Stolz – One America
Bill Moyer – Backbone Campaign

We will also be meeting with the offices of Senators Murray and Cantwell to urge them to sponsor a Senate version of HJR 48.

Fix Democracy First and Jefferson County Move to Amend are hosting this Seattle event as part of a national day of action at Congressional offices across the country, coordinated by the Move to Amend Coalition. These events will shine a light on corporate power and its impact on our democracy, our people and our planet, while pressuring Congress to support the We the People Constitutional Amendment (HJR 48) to abolish corporate constitutional rights (“corporate personhood”) and political money in elections defined as “free speech.”

Many of us are engaged in one or more of today’s challenging issues, such as climate change, human rights for marginalized people, immigrant rights, native sovereignty, fair trade, affordable housing, endless warfare, universal healthcare, and many others. With so many issues demanding attention, it’s easy to lose sight of corporate power as the systemic force behind them all.

To highlight the connection between corporate power and issues like these, we’re inviting you and representatives of other action groups to speak about ways that corporate constitutional rights impact your issue. Check out here for some examples. In short 10-minute speeches you and others can help spread awareness that corporate constitutional rights are not only dominating our elections, but working to overwhelm our rights as citizens to create the just society and sustainable future we want.

Following the rally a delegation of speakers will meet with our Senators or their staff to deliver our written testimonies. We will ask the Senators to introduce a companion bill to HJR 48 in the Senate, and remind them that Initiative 735 had overwhelming support from WA voters.

Initiative 735 in 2016 passed by 63% across the state and passed in all 10 Congressional Districts. The initiative called on our national delegation in the U.S. House and Senate to pass a constitutional amendment to reverse Supreme Court Decisions like Citizens United and Buckley v. Valeo with language stating:

• Corporations and other legal entities are not actual persons under the constitution.
• Money is not a form of free speech.
• Political contributions should be regulated.
• All political donations should be made public.

We are supporting House Joint Resolution 48, as this bill closely reflects the language and intent of I-735.

Other info for HJR 48:
Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal in WA’s 7th CD became the prime sponsor of HJR 48. Five other WA State Representatives have signed on as co-sponsors, including Adam Smith in 9th CD, Suzan DelBene in the 1st CD, Derek Kilmer in the 6th CD, Denny Heck in the 10th CD, and Kim Schrier 8th CD. Thanks them for sponsoring!

Unfortunately, Rick Larsen in the 2nd CD, Jaime Herrera-Beutler in the 3rd CD, Dan Newhouse in the 4th CD, and Cathy McMorris-Rodgers in the 5th DC have yet to sign on. They all have been very resistant to signing on, and we believe they are not respecting the will of their constituents.