Citizens United and Corporate Personhood

Some notes and photos from my recent trip to the state capitol!
"...So far the state capitol building is quite impressive. I've been here several times before for various gatherings and tours, but never in the upper floors. The building has seven stories, with a spiral stair winding up into the dome from the fourth floor. (The dome from the outside can be seen here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maine_State_House)

There is lots of worn grey marble, and a personalised coatrack that looks to be from the 20s, with senators' assigned numbers on it. There are many dramatic, dark portraits of stern men who served in the supreme court, the congress, the senate, etc., as well as all of Maine's governors."
 Our reason for going to Augusta was a press conference regarding corporate personhood and its implications in Maine as well as the U.S. as a whole. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporate_personhood
In 2010, the supreme court ruled on a Citizens United decision that included the allowance of corporations to raise and contribute funds to a political party. Since corporations can easily raise massive amounts of funding, this gives them an unfair advantage over average citizens. Essentially, there is a possibility of candidates being swayed by these large funds, and some Mainers are worried about the affect that this is going to have in our own legislature. Additionally, corporations use their status as "people" to skive off on taxations and to assert powers in court which they should not have.

  The Citizens United decision all rests on the reasoning that corporations are made up of people, and therefore should have the rights of a person. This is dangerous logic when you consider the above implications, and the wiggle room involved. 

  Eleven states have already opted to overturn the Citizens United ruling with an amendment to the constitution: http://freespeechforpeople.org/node/342  The sixth state to join, California's call for an overturn was a huge step along the way, as it is the state with the most members in congress, the largest population, and the largest economy in the U.S.  Many groups in my home state are patiently working to make Maine the twelfth state. 

  The last constitutional amendment was ratified in 1992, and before that, in 1971. It is a very difficult thing to do, but it can be accomplished. There are usually several years between an amendment's proposal and its ratification, so it is best to just keep pressing for this and keeping it in the news. ttp://www.pressherald.com/news/a-century-of-shame_2012-05-20.html

https://movetoamend.org