To: The United States House of Representatives and The United States Senate
Amend the US Constitution so that corporations are not people and money is not speech.
I support the Nolan-Pocan We the People Amendment (HJR 29), which calls for a constitutional amendment that states that only human beings have inherent constitutional rights and that money is not speech. That way, government can regulate political spending.
Why is this important?
The Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commission ruling granted corporations the right to unlimited spending on super pacs based on earlier decisions. First, corporations in a number of decisions have been granted 1st amendment free speech rights. Second, Buckley vs. Valejo has been interpreted to say money is equivalent to speech. The Court thus ruled that since free speech is not to be limited, neither is political spending. Long before the Citizens United decision, money played an excessive role in our government and in our lives. 94% of the time in California the candidate who raised the most money won the election. Corporations have been claiming constitutional rights for over 100 years.
* Besides 1st amendment right of free speech, corporations have claimed and won 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, and 14th amendment rights. The right of privacy has been claimed, but not yet secured.
*Claiming rights against search and seizure, corporations protect themselves from complying with worker safety regulations and requirements related to pollution.
* Claiming right not to speak, the dairy industry sued and won against a law requiring labeling products from cows which were given BST, a bovine growth hormone. The precedence has implication for labeling GMO food.
* Claiming 5th amendment taking rights, laws against drilling horizontally under people’s homes for coal were struck down, and entire towns in Pennsylvania sank in 1922. The precedence has implication for fracking.
Big money manipulates all three branches of government—the legislative and executive branches though campaign financing, lobbying, and threats to harm the economy, the judicial branch through hiring the best lawyers to seize constitutional rights. While exhaustive grassroots work can successfully counter big money in elections, all future Supreme Court decisions will be determined by precedence and the constitution. Thus, the only recourse to return our democracy to We the People is a constitutional amendment.
It is critical that an amendment address both constitutional rights only belonging to human beings and that money is not equivalent to speech. If corporations are curbed of rights, but money remains as speech, CEOs instead of their companies will fund campaigns. If money is ruled as not speech, corporations will continue to usurp rights meant for people to damage our planet, health, safety, and way of life. Given the difficult process of amending the constitution, it does not make sense to accomplish the goal with two or more amendments. There are bills which separate the two issues and bills which only address the single Citizens United decision as well as half measures which leave non-profit corporations alone. The NRA is a non-profit. The Nolan-Pocan We the People bill is the only one which is comprehensive.
* Besides 1st amendment right of free speech, corporations have claimed and won 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, and 14th amendment rights. The right of privacy has been claimed, but not yet secured.
*Claiming rights against search and seizure, corporations protect themselves from complying with worker safety regulations and requirements related to pollution.
* Claiming right not to speak, the dairy industry sued and won against a law requiring labeling products from cows which were given BST, a bovine growth hormone. The precedence has implication for labeling GMO food.
* Claiming 5th amendment taking rights, laws against drilling horizontally under people’s homes for coal were struck down, and entire towns in Pennsylvania sank in 1922. The precedence has implication for fracking.
Big money manipulates all three branches of government—the legislative and executive branches though campaign financing, lobbying, and threats to harm the economy, the judicial branch through hiring the best lawyers to seize constitutional rights. While exhaustive grassroots work can successfully counter big money in elections, all future Supreme Court decisions will be determined by precedence and the constitution. Thus, the only recourse to return our democracy to We the People is a constitutional amendment.
It is critical that an amendment address both constitutional rights only belonging to human beings and that money is not equivalent to speech. If corporations are curbed of rights, but money remains as speech, CEOs instead of their companies will fund campaigns. If money is ruled as not speech, corporations will continue to usurp rights meant for people to damage our planet, health, safety, and way of life. Given the difficult process of amending the constitution, it does not make sense to accomplish the goal with two or more amendments. There are bills which separate the two issues and bills which only address the single Citizens United decision as well as half measures which leave non-profit corporations alone. The NRA is a non-profit. The Nolan-Pocan We the People bill is the only one which is comprehensive.