Philadelphia Protesters Urge Remedy to 2010's 'Citizens United' Ruling
By John Ostapkovich
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- As the US Supreme Court heard arguments in a case about how much money individuals can donate to political candidates, activists gathered today in Philadelphia to propose a workaround to an earlier ruling.
Speakers denounced the 2010 Citizens United decision, which opened the floodgates for corporate (and, to a lesser extent, union) donations to political action committees.
Lawyer Steve Masters (at left in photo) is pushing a Philadelphia ballot question.
"Basically it's to give citizens in Philadelphia the voice to say to Congress and to our state legislature that we demand that our democracy be saved, that we want this crazy Supreme Court decision called Citizens United overturned, and the only way we can do it is through a Constitutional amendment," he explains.
Activist John Poole has a different proposal:
"We're basically looking to do an Article V convention of the states. According to the precedent set by the Supreme Court on these issues, it would be limited to the one topic, around the corruption of money in politics."
Article V of the Constitution provides that, if 2/3 of state legislatures vote for a Constitutional Convention, one is called -- as compared to having a proposed amendment first be passed in Congress and then submitted to the states for ratification.
