Honoring the 14th Amendment and Equal Protection Under the Law Posted on June 10, 2020 (June 17, 2020) Democracy Amendments This Saturday, June 13, 2020, marks the 154th anniversary of the passage of the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution. The amendment reads, in relevant part: No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person ofRead More
Support the Equal Rights Amendment in the Senate Posted on March 10, 2020 (June 18, 2020) Democracy Amendments Following decades of advocacy and determination, the Equal Rights Amendment, guaranteeing equal rights to all people regardless of sex, is moving forward. On January 15, Virginia became the 38th state to ratify the amendment, finally meeting the required number of states for ratification. But there is one more hurdle in this decades-long fight before theRead More
Our Testimony in Support of the Democracy For All Amendment Posted on February 3, 2020 (June 24, 2020) Democracy Amendments Free Speech For People submitted written testimony to the U.S. House of Representatives’ Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, in support of the Democracy For All Amendment. The written testimony includes a copy of our Legal Director Ron Fein’s chapter, Fixing the Supreme Court’s Mistake: The Case for the Twenty-EighthRead More
Justice James Nelson On The Tenth Anniversary of Citizens United Posted on January 21, 2020 Democracy Amendments On January 21, 2010, the Supreme Court of the United States handed down one of its worst and most activist decisions ever. Indeed, in terms of harm caused and the likelihood for future harm, the Court’s decision in Citizens United is, likely, the most pernicious Supreme Court decision ever issued in our nation’s history. ARead More
John Bonifaz and Jim Bopp Debate The Democracy For All Amendment on Outside The Box Posted on January 9, 2020 Democracy Amendments Free Speech For People President John Bonifaz recently appeared on Outside The Box to discuss political equality and the importance of a Democracy For All Amendment. During a debate with James Bopp, Jr., John outlined how the 28th Amendment would overturn the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision and related rulings and would end the systemRead More
BREAKING: New Hampshire Becomes the 20th State to Call for a Constitutional Amendment Overturning Citizens United Posted on June 6, 2019 (June 18, 2020) Democracy Amendments Today, the New Hampshire Senate voted to pass HB 504, a bill calling for an amendment to overturn the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United, which allowed unlimited money from wealthy and corporate donors to flood elections. The state Senate vote follows the March 19 approval of HB 504 by the state House ofRead More
Campaign Finance Without Facts: McCutcheon v. FEC on its Fifth Anniversary Posted on April 2, 2019 (April 2, 2019) Democracy Amendments April 2 is the five-year anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision in McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission. In that case, the Court struck down contribution limits that limited any one person from giving more than $123,200 to all federal campaigns, parties, and political committees combined. The Court dismissed as “divorced from reality” concerns about howRead More
Remembering Congressman Walter Jones Posted on February 11, 2019 (February 20, 2019) Democracy Amendments We at Free Speech For People were sad to learn of the passing of Representative Walter Jones (R-NC3). Representative Jones was a strong supporter of campaign finance reform. We were proud to work with him as one of the lead plaintiffs in Lieu v. Federal Election Commission, the case that could end super PACs (watchRead More
Today in History: Buckley v. Valeo Posted on January 30, 2019 (January 29, 2019) Democracy Amendments January 30 is the 43rd anniversary of Buckley v. Valeo, the 1976 Supreme Court case that set the foundation for four decades of problematic and often unworkable jurisprudence impeding society’s ability to put limits on the influence of big money in elections. It didn’t have to be that way. In 1975, the Court of AppealsRead More
The anniversary of the 24th Amendment reminds us that poll taxes are not dead Posted on January 23, 2019 Democracy Amendments Fifty-five years ago today, the Twenty-fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified. The main provision of the amendment reads: The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any primary or other election for President or Vice President, for electors for President or Vice President, or for Senator or Representative in Congress,Read More