Congratulations to democracy activists in Chagrin Falls for their effort in getting this initiative on the ballot... RESTORE RIGHTS TO REAL PEOPLE From the Chagrin Valley Times - David Lange Editorial Oct. 1, 2014 chagrinvalleytoday/viewpoint/our_viewpoint/article_cb5fba80-4992-11e4-b97a-0017a43b2370.html Thanks to fellow citizens who have exercised their First Amendment right to petition the government for a redress of grievances, the voters of Chagrin Falls and Gates Mills at least will get to exercise their First Amendment right to freedom of expression on Election Day. And thats exactly what they ought to do -- loud and clear. It doesnt mean the federal and state governments, which have become more beholden to corporate interests than to government of the people, by the people, for the people, will listen. For too many politicians, money speaks louder than words. That is precisely what Issue 34 on the Chagrin Falls ballot, titled, Political influence by corporate entities, addresses. Initiated by the group Move to Amend Chagrin Falls, it calls for an amendment to the U.S. Constitution declaring that only human beings, not corporations, are legal persons with constitutional rights and that money is not the equivalent of speech. This national movement, which is born from the reactionary U.S. Supreme Court bare majority ruling in the 2010 Citizens United case, seeks to restore the true meanings of speech, personhood and democracy to governance of the United States. Real citizens in Chagrin Falls can join others across the country in sending a message to political leaders this Election Day, and they should toss those who refuse to listen out of office in future elections. Downstream in the Chagrin Valley, an initiative petition by the group Citizens for the Preservation of Gates Mills has advanced Issue 51 to the ballot in an effort to amend the village charter to include a community bill of rights. It seeks to restore the 1912 home-rule amendment to the Ohio Constitution that was usurped in 2004, when legislators, induced by campaign contributions from the oil and gas industry, passed Ohio House Bill 278. By joining citizens in Broadview Heights, Mansfield and other Ohio communities, Gates Mills voters have the opportunity this Election Day to send a message to political leaders that conservative values like municipal home rule need to be protected, not emasculated. According to the proposed Gates Mills bill of rights, governments exist to secure and protect the rights of people and communities, and any system of government which becomes destructive to those ends is not legitimate, lawful or constitutional. Actually, such basic tenets of American democracy should go without saying. Unfortunately, the forces working against the peoples constitutional rights need a firm reminder. Are the citizens of Chagrin Falls and Gates Mills up to that challenge?
Posted on: Sat, 04 Oct 2014 21:59:05 +0000
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