UPDATE: The New York City Council will vote on this resolution on Wednesday, January 4th at 12pm at City Hall in the Council Chambers. The vote is open to the public — please join us!
Do corporations share our First Amendment rights? Inspired by the Los Angeles City Council, the Progressive Caucus is sponsoring a resolution opposing the United States Supreme Court Citizens United decision which gave corporations the same First Amendment rights as people. (Check out this great video for more background). Progressive Caucus Members Brad Lander, Melissa Mark-Viverito and Steve Levin are prime sponsors of the resolution, with the entirety of the Progressive Caucus as co-sponsors. We thank Speaker Christine Quinn for her leadership on this important issue. As our support of this resolution demonstrates, restoring confidence in government and strengthening democratic participation is a core principle of the Progressive Caucus.
The City Council held a public hearing about this resolution on Friday, December 16. Thanks to the Campaign Finance Board and Common Cause New York for their supporting testimonies! We’re looking forward to a vote on the resolution at the beginning of the new year. Stay in touch with us via Twitter and Facebook for the rescheduled date and time.
To take action now, join us in urging Congress to take action to protect our democracy against corporate control and return the election process to the people — sign the petition today.
Great news. A working group I am involved in will be supporting this and have been in the process of contacting council members about this. We are preparing for January 20-21 events in NYC pertaining to the anniversary of the citizens united vs FEC supreme court ruling.
For those who want to find out more or get involved see http://tinyurl.com/corpRIP