Great news from Seattle: Yesterday, the City Council there voted 8-0 to adopt Resolution 31380, joining more than 100 municipalities and four states so far in asking Congress to overturn the Citizens United ruling. Specifically, the Seattle resolution calls on Congress to amend the United States Constitution to make clear:

1. Corporations are not human beings, and only human beings are endowed with Constitutional rights.
2. Contributions and expenditures for political purposes are not Constitutionally-protected speech, and that, therefore regulating political contributions and spending is not equivalent to limiting political speech.
3. Congress and the States shall have the power to regulate contributions and expenditures for campaigns and ballot measures, and to require public disclosure of the sources of such contributions and expenditures.

As City Councilmember Mike O’Brian writes: “This resolution is a positive declaration of Seattle’s values.” The same goes for the values of Americans everywhere.

We thank the Seattle City Council for its leadership, and also our board member Pam Eakes, our volunteer Ryan Harkins, our members in Seattle, and everyone who made this victory happen.