Vermont Votes to End Corporate PersonhoodMONTPELIER, VT With yesterdays vote in the state house, Vermont is now the first state to call for an amendment to abolish the doctrine known as Corporate Personhood which gives corporations constitutional rights meant to protect people. Support for the resolution in the state legislature comes from a mandate set forth by Vermonts citizens. Last month 65 town meetings passed similar resolutions, calling on the legislators in the state to stand up and urging Congress to send an amendment to the states for ratification. Americans of all political persuasions are tired of the big money in politics and tired of corporations running the country, said David Cobb, spokesperson for the Move to Amend coalition, a grassroots national organization spearheading resolution efforts across the country. We salute the good people of Vermont for standing up first to make clear that an amendment that addresses this issue at its core is whats needed now. Communities across the country are standing up to show their outrage and to demand that their legislators pass an amendment to overrule the Court, stated Kaitlin Sopoci-Belknap, National Field Organizing Director for Move to Amend. We recognize that an amendment is a big task, but Move to Amends volunteers are ready to rise to the challenge. ### Background on state resolution effort: The Vermonters Say Corporations Are Not People partnership, which worked together on town meeting proposals, also has worked to pass the resolutions at the state legislative level. The effort includes Move to Amend; Public Citizen; Womens International League for Peace and Freedom, a Move to Amend affiliate; Vermont Peace Justice Center; VPIRG; Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, founders of Ben Jerrys Homemade Inc.; Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility; Rural Vermont; Vermont Workers Center; Common Cause Vermont; Occupy Burlington; Vermont Action for Peace; and the Safe and Green Campaign. Document:MTA-VermontPetition-PR.pdf CONTACT: Kaitlin Sopoci-Belknap, National Field Organizing Director, 707-269-0984, info@movetoamend.org 