Celebrities At The "Occupy" Protests

Some protesters have joined Harvard law professor and Creative Commons board member Lawrence Lessig's call for a convention to propose amendments to the United States Constitution made at a September 24–25, 2011 conference co-chaired by the Tea Party Patriots' national coordinator, in Lessig's October 5 book, and at the Occupy protest in Washington, DC. Reporter Dan Froomkin said the book could serve as a manifesto for the protesters, focusing on the core problem of corruption in both political parties and their elections. Lessig's initial constitutional amendment would allow legislatures to limit political contributions from non-citizens, including corporations, anonymous organizations, and foreign nationals. Lessig, whose involvement in the movement has increased its credibility within intellectual circles, also supports public campaign financing and electoral college reform to establish the one person, one vote principle. Lessig's web site convention.idea.informer.com allows anyone to propose and vote on constitutional amendments. Similar amendments have been proposed by Dylan Ratigan, Karl Auerbach, Cenk Uygur, and others.
- New York City
The Occupy Wall Street protests began in New York City in September 2011. By October 9, similar demonstrations were either ongoing or had been held in 70 major cities and over 600 communities across the U.S. An October 12–16 poll found that 67% of New York City voters agreed with the protesters and 87% agreed with their right to protest.