Paul Cienfuegos invented this workshop in the Autumn of 2011 in order to introduce Community Rights to a large audience at the Occupy Portland (Oregon) encampment. Since then, he has been leading this introductory 3-hour workshop across the United States to rave reviews.
Did you know that it’s illegal for a city, town, or county government to pass laws that protect the health and welfare of a community from destructive corporate activities? No wonder it’s so difficult to stop corporate mines, pipelines, factory farms, clearcuts and big box stores, even when an entire community opposes such activities. There are fascinating historical reasons why communities are not allowed to pass such laws, but these reasons make no sense as they violate We the People’s right of self-government that our ancestors fought and died for in the American Revolution.
Paul’s introductory workshop will…
* share some of this history,
* introduce the Community Rights movement as a bold response to these unjust laws, and
* outline how We the People can breathe new life into civic engagement by reclaiming the structures of law that have made real democracy impossible until now.
Since 1999, more than 200 communities in nine states have passed legally groundbreaking locally-enforceable Community Rights laws which…
* strip corporations of their so-called constitutional “rights”,
* ban specific harmful corporate activities, and
* enshrine the right of a community to govern itself and to protect the health and welfare of its residents – human and otherwise.
These laws have banned fracking and oil drilling, factory farms, water withdrawal for bottling, toxic sludge dumping on farmland, corporate-managed infrastructure, unsustainable energy development, and more. 95% of these laws have never been challenged in court.
“We the People” must exercise our RIGHT to pass laws that protect our community’s health and welfare. Let’s get organized!
This is a workshop lasting three hours. It can be scheduled on a weekday evening, or on a weekend. Paul can handle as many as 80 and as few as 10 people per workshop. No previous experience or knowledge is necessary to attend.