What are community rights?

Community rights means that people who live in the community have the right to make the decisions that affect their well-being and future. Today, however, communities across the country are finding that they don’t have the right to make critical decisions for themselves – such as the right to say “no” to fracking or factory farming, and the right to say “yes” to sustainable energy and healthy local food systems.
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The Amendment

The constitutional amendment is titled “The Right to Local, Community Self-Government” and would codify into law the right to local, community self-government, enabling local governments to protect fundamental rights and prohibit corporate activities that violate those rights. It would secure the authority of communities to put in place stronger rights and protections than those currently recognized at the state, federal, or international level.
Read the Amendment

 

Get Involved

Corporations have nearly endless money and resources. But the one thing they don’t have is the power of the people! That is why we need you to build this movement!
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Why do we need community rights?

pipeline_construction_williams_Today corporations have more power to decide the future and fate of communities than the people in those communities. Corporations are legally protected and have greater “rights” over people, communities, and the environment that permits them to:

  • Build LNG pipelines
  • Spray toxic pesticides
  • Grow GMOs
  • Gentrify neighborhoods
  • Factory farm animals
  • Take private property for corporate use
  • Silence workers
  • Transport unwanted coal and oil
  • Maintain poverty wages

Helicopter_Spray_2_croppedOver the last four years in Oregon, county-level community rights efforts have been underway to confront an array of corporate projects from LNG pipelines to pesticides to GMOs to coal and oil trains. In each community the aim has been to adopt a Community Bill of Rights law that secures the rights of the people and nature over that of unwanted corporate harms. Oregon communities join over 200 communities in nine states who have adopted community rights laws. But statewide constitutional change is necessary in order to give these local community rights laws the legal protections they need to withstand the all-but-certain legal challenges that corporations will mount against them.

Latest News

Right of Local Self-Government Initiative Vindicated

Court rules in favor of constitutional amendment effort, calls out State’s obstructionist actions. CORVALLIS – The citizen-led petitioning initiative effort to amend the Oregon constitution to secure the Right of Local Community Self Government has been cleared by a Marion County circuit court judge to gather signatures for the November […]

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Big Oil and Gas Threaten Community Self-Determination with New State Preemption Legislation

Oregon HB 2480 would expressly preempt local governments from any authority over the transportation or storage of fossil fuels. Legislation That is Part of a Pattern of States Denying Local Democratic Rights Wednesday, February 9, 2017 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contact: Mary Geddry [email protected] 541-551-1492 CORVALLIS – HB 2480 was […]

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Right of Community Self-Determination Greater Than Corporate Power in Court

The petition initiative blocked by the State for ballot qualification that would curb corporate power will be heard on Thursday, November 10th Eight months since easily collecting the required number of sponsorship signatures for the Right of Local Community Self-Government constitutional amendment, the petition initiative still cannot collect signatures to […]

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Waiting for a hearing

Oregonians for Community Rights filed the Right of Local Self Government Amendment with the Secretary of State and submitted the 1000 sponsorship signatures required for them to review the amendment. As expected, they rejected the amendment as unconstitutional. They say it would need to be run as multiple amendments and […]

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We are challenging the state!

Oregonians for Community Rights (OR4CR) submitted over 1,300 sponsorship signatures to the Oregon Secretary of State to begin the signature collection process to qualify the Right of Local Community Self-Government constitutional amendment for the November 2016 ballot. This amendment is all about democratizing our communities. That means having the authority […]

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Sponsorships signatures submitted!

Oregonians for Community Rights (OR4CR) submitted over 1,300 sponsorship signatures to the Oregon Secretary of State to begin the signature collection process to qualify the Right of Local Community Self-Government constitutional amendment for the ballot. The amendment would codify into law the right of local community self-government, enabling the people […]

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