Senator Markey co-sponsors a strong Democracy Amendment!

In late August, the Democracy Amendment Coalition of Massachusetts delivered a letter to Senator Ed Markey signed by 30 organizations urging him to file or sponsor strong democracy amendments to end big money’s iron grip on our electoral process and policy making and to end the era of corporate constitutional rights. The letter has since been backed up by 6,000 petition signatures from Massachusetts residents.

Heeding this call, on October 28, Senator Ed Markey joined many in the Massachusetts congressional delegation and over a hundred other federal elected representatives in cosponsoring SJ.RES.19, a constitutional amendment filed by Senator Tom Udall (NM) addressing the corrosive influence of money in politics.

Send Senator Markey a tweet thanking him for taking action on this important issue.

However, SJ.RES.19 does not address the issue of corporate constitutional rights which in recent years has allowed corporations to use the courts to invalidate democratically enacted laws protecting our health, safety, environment and democracy. The Democracy Amendment Coalition of Massachusetts continues to call on the Senator to file or cosponsor a constitutional amendment affirming constitutional rights for living people, not corporations.

Senator Markey’s recent action leaves Senator Elizabeth Warren as the only member of the Massachusetts delegation not currently co-sponsoring any strong democracy amendments. In September, we delivered this letter to her signed by 30 organizations urging her to take action. Just this week the coalition met with her staff and delivered nearly 6000 petition signatures urging action.

Send Senator Warren a tweet urging her to sponsor strong democracy amendments.

Representatives from Common Cause Massachusetts, Move to Amend, MASSPIRG, Better Future Project, MassVOTE, AFL-CIO Massachusetts, and State Senator Jamie Eldridge met with Senator Warren’s staff on Tuesday November 11 to urge action on a strong democracy amendment. We remain in contact with her staff and remain hopeful that the Senator will take action soon.