Скачать или смотреть Wolf-PAC - Texans United to Amend Rally to Get Money Out of Politics

Grassroots organizers and activists from across Texas took to the South Steps of the Texas State Capitol to mark the third anniversary of the Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, and rally in support of two concurrent Texas resolutions before the 83rd Legislature calling for an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to establish that political expenditures are not protected speech under the First Amendment, and only natural persons are protected by constitutional rights.

The Problem:
Discarding a century of precedent, the United States Supreme Court, in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, swept aside long-standing campaign finance laws and cleared the way for unlimited corporate spending in elections. The Court ruled that political spending is a form of protected speech under the First Amendment and that the government may not prevent corporations from giving money to support or oppose individual candidates for public office. Any attempt to set limits on these "independent political expenditures" at the city, county, state or federal level is now unconstitutional. This ruling gave enormous power to corporations to influence not only the outcomes of our elections but the decisions made by our elected officials once in office. Agriculture, civil rights, criminal justice, the economy, education, the environment, healthcare, housing, immigration, infrastructure, taxes - money in politics influences the decisions our elected representatives make on every major issue our state faces, often at the expense of ordinary citizens, families, and small businesses.

The Solution:
Only a constitutional amendment can restore the ability of our elected representatives in Congress and the Texas Legislature to regulate the expenditure of money in politics. Resolutions have been submitted to both houses of the Texas Legislature directing the U.S. Congress to initiate this amendment process. We need to ask our representatives to pass these resolutions. SCR 2 is the Senate version (introduced by Sen. Rodney Ellis) and HCR 21 is the House version (introduced by Rep. Senfronia Thompson).

Eleven states and over 300 municipalities have passed similar resolutions. Help make Texas the 12th state to ask Congress to get money out of politics.

About Texans United to Amend:
Texans United to Amend is a network of independent groups throughout Texas dedicated to passing local resolutions at the city, county and state level calling for an amendment to the US Constitution to combat the unlimited flow of money into our elections.

A ZGraphix/Austin Indymedia Production.
Produced/Edited by Jeff Zavala.
Filmed by Mari Hernandez.
http://zgraphix.org
http://austin.indymedia.org