National Move To Amend Spokeswoman to Appear Locally

Ashley Sanders, democracy activist of the Move to Amend campaign, to visit Bend today.

The Bend Move to Amend group will host a public workshop and presentation about Creating Democracy and Challenging Corporate Rule with guest speaker Ashley Sanders of the Move to Amend campaign. Part history lesson and part heart-felt call to action, the event is on March 5 and will be at the Bend Senior Center 1600 SE Reed Market Rd . The workshop and presentation will go from 5:30 – 8:30 pm.

The recent U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Citizens United v. FEC opened the floodgates to unlimited corporate spending on elections. Sanders, an organizer and Salt Lake City’s Move to Amend affiliate coordinator, will help local residents understand the history behind the recent decision and how they can work to abolish “Corporate Personhood” and reestablish a government of, by, and for the people.

“Corporate Personhood” commonly refers to court-created precedent that gives corporations constitutional rights intended solely for human beings. “Corporate personhood is not an inconsequential legal technicality. The Supreme Court ruled that a corporation was a ‘legal person’ with 14th Amendment protections before they granted full personhood to African-Americans, immigrants, natives, or women”, states David Cobb, a spokesperson for Move to Amend and an attorney helping to lead the coalition.

“We are inspired by historic social movements that recognized the necessity of altering fundamental power relationships,” said Cobb. “America has progressed through ordinary people joining together—from the Revolutionaries to Abolitionists, Suffragists, Trade Unionists, and Civil Rights activists through to today. Move to Amend is a long-term effort to make the U.S. Constitution more democratic.”

The forum will focus on how Bend can join the national movement against Corporate Personhood. Sanders will provide information about the issue and facilitate a discussion about local action in Bend and in communities across the United States to win the amendment campaign through grassroots mobilization.

Over 250,000 people have signed an online petition supporting a constitutional amendment at www.MoveToAmend.org.