LTTE: Citizens United Law Allows More NRA Funding For Candidates

To the Editor:

I share the public sorrow over the senseless loss of 17 lives by gun violence in Florida last week and I welcome the public reminders of the outrageous millions of dollars of political donations that the NRA has made to our top lawmakers. When the majority party leaders in Congress are all beholden to their NRA bosses and their NRA report cards, it is no wonder that proposed gun safety measures repeatedly fail despite widespread crosspartisan public support. NRA money “speaks” louder to these lawmakers than the desires of the majority of their constituents.

So how has the NRA been able to make these huge donations to key lawmakers to buy the laws that they desire? The Citizens United Supreme Court decision of 2010 struck down reasonable limits on campaign donations by corporations and special interests with the interpretation that money is speech and therefore can’t be limited.

I certainly join the call for action on gun safety now to protect our children and communities. And I also urge you to join me now in a call for a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United to keep civil rights for human beings, not corporations, and to define that money is not speech. New Jersey passed a state resolution in 2012 calling for Congress to pass a constitutional amendment. Please call your NJ Congressman to ask them to support House Joint Resolution 31. Currently Rep Tom MacArthur NJ 3 and Rep Frank LoBiondo NJ 2 are not supporting this. Rep Donald Norcross NJ 1 cosponsors HJ Res 31 and I thank him for his support. Thanks also to both Sen Cory Booker and Sen Robert Menendez for being cosponsors of Senate Joint Resolution 8. We need action to get money out of politics to protect our lives and our democracy so that citizens are represented in Washington, not special interests.

Marie HenselderKimmel

Cherry Hill NJ

tricountyapa@gmail.com