Sen. Bernie Saunders proposes a constitutional amendment

Sen. Bernie Sanders proposed a constitutional amendment.  The amendment would  overturn Citizens United and make it clear that corporations are not people.

Sen. Sanders’ proposed Saving American Democracy amendment states:

SECTION 1. The rights protected by the Constitution of the United States are the rights of natural persons and do not extend to for-profit corporations, limited liability companies, or other private entities established for business purposes or to promote business interests under the laws of any state, the United States, or any foreign state.

SECTION 2. Such corporate and other private entities established under law are subject to regulation by the people through the legislative process so long as such regulations are consistent with the powers of Congress and the States and do not limit the freedom of the press.

SECTION 3. Such corporate and other private entities shall be prohibited from making contributions or expenditures in any election of any candidate for public office or the vote upon any ballot measure submitted to the people.

SECTION 4. Congress and the States shall have the power to regulate and set limits on all election contributions and expenditures, including a candidate’s own spending, and to authorize the establishment of political committees to receive, spend, and publicly disclose the sources of those contributions and expenditures.

Sen. Sanders added:

There comes a time when an issue is so important that the only way to address it is by a constitutional amendment.

A constitutional amendment is a big deal. It would probably take nearly 7 years to get this amendment passed by super-majoroties in the House and by the states. 

Article V of the Constitution spells out how amendments can be proposed and ratified.

To Propose Amendments

1. Two-thirds of both houses of Congress vote to propose an amendment, or
2. Two-thirds of the state legislatures ask Congress to call a national convention to propose amendments. (This method has never been used.)

To Ratify Amendments

1. Three-fourths of the state legislatures approve it, or
2. Ratifying conventions in three-fourths of the states approve it. This method has been used only once -- to ratify the 21st Amendment -- repealing Prohibition.

sources: 

http://www.politicususa.com/en/bernie-sanders-citizens-united

http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/usconstitution/a/constamend.htm

Subscribe to the Rightardia feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/UFPYA  

 
Rightardia by Rightard Whitey of Rightardia is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at rightardia@gmail.com.