by Dianna Vosburg
2/12/2015

Grassroots volunteers from Holliston wish to thank our state Senator, Sen. Karen Spilka, and our state representative, Rep. Carolyn Dykema, for listening to our concerns about corruption in government, and agreeing to co-sponsor the “We the People Act”.

The We The People Act asks that Congress propose and pass an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that states 1) corporations and other artificial entities are not entitled to the same innate constitutional rights as human beings, and 2) Congress may regulate spending in political campaigns to ensure that all have fair access to the political process. This act differs from a past resolution; it specifies to Congress what the needed amendment must accomplish, and it further specifies that if Congress does not act to pass such an amendment within six months, Massachusetts would join other states in calling for an Amendments Convention (as described in Article V of the U.S. Constitution). This allows the people, through their state governments, an opportunity to pass this amendment.

Our founders included Article V as a check on a recalcitrant Congress. As Congress is beholden to wealthy special interests for campaign donations, it is clear that the people need to intervene through the states. Ratification by three fourths of the states is needed to make them law. If this bill passes, Massachusetts would join California, Vermont, and Illinois in calling for an amendment as part of a growing movement.

We thank Rep. Dykema and Sen. Spilka for co-sponsoring this important bill in support of democratic governance.

For the full text of the bill, see http://www.wethepeoplemass.org/full-text. See movetoamend.org for more information.