Vermont lawmakers draft amendment to stop corporations from being considered 'people'

Vermont lawmakers draft amendment to stop corporations from being considered 'people'


(NaturalNews) In 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the landmark case of Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission that corporations are essentially the same as people, and are thus free under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution to participate in "electioneering communications," or political advertising and contribution campaigns. But lawmakers from the state of Vermont have put forth a resolution that, if passed, will amend the U.S. Constitution to state that only human beings are persons guaranteed constitutional protections.

The Citizens United case deals with whether or not corporations are free to fund political campaigns and contribute to advertising efforts in the same way that individuals are. Prior to the 2010 declaration, corporate spending provisions had been in place to protect the election system from being dominated and controlled by powerful corporate interests. But all that changed when activist judges decided to overturn these protections for the People.

In a recent dissent before the Supreme Court, Justice John Paul Stevens reiterated the truth about corporations in an effort to draw attention to the absurdity of considering corporations to be the same as human beings.

"Corporations have no consciences, no beliefs, no feelings, no thoughts, no desires," he wrote. "Corporations help structure and facilitate the activities of human beings, to be sure, and their 'personhood' often serves as a useful legal fiction. But they are not themselves members of 'We the People' by whom and for whom our Constitution was established."

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/032100_Vermont_corporations.html#ixzz1Jvi5ZzLP