Policy Order O-4

WHEREAS: The United States Constitution was adopted and ratified to protect the free speech and other rights of people, not corporations; and

WHEREAS: Corporations are entities created by the law of states and nations; and

WHEREAS: The United States Supreme Court, in its decision Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, overturned long standing precedent prohibiting corporations from spending corporate general treasury funds in our elections; and

WHEREAS: Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission allows unrestricted amounts of corporate money into our political process; and

WHEREAS: Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission purports to invalidate state laws and even state Constitutional provisions separating corporate money from elections; and

WHEREAS: Article V of the United States Constitution empowers and obligates the people and states of the United States of America to use the constitutional amendment process to correct those egregiously wrong decisions of the United States Supreme Court that go to the heart of our democracy and republican self-government; and

WHEREAS: The people and states of the United States of America have used the amendment process to strengthen  the nation and preserve liberty and equality and to reverse erroneous Supreme Court decisions that weaken this liberty and equality; now therefore be it

ORDERED: That the City of Cambridge hereby joins other communities across the country and calls upon the United States Congress to pass and send to the states for ratification, a constitutional amendment to reverse Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission and to restore constitutional rights and fair elections to the people; and be it further

ORDERED: That the City Clerk be and hereby is requested to forward a suitably engrossed copy of this resolution to Senator Scott Brown, Senator John F. Kerry and Representative Michael Capuano on behalf of the entire City Council.