C O R P S - A I N 'T - P E E P S
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CORPORATIONS ARE NOT PEOPLE
MONEY IS NOT SPEECH
In your community:
You can pass an ordinance that limits corporate constitutional rights and rejects the concept that money is protected speech.
You can support amending the Constitution to establish that corporations are not people and money is not speech.
_Here in Arcata, CA, we are busy collecting signatures to get our Ballot Initiative Ordinance on the November ballot.
Below, is the text of the proposed Ordinance and the Reasons for it: Text of Proposed Ballot Initiative Ordinance Preamble: We the people of Arcata hold these truths to be self evident: Corporations are not people. Money is not speech. We support amending the U.S. Constitution to establish that: 1. Corporations are not natural persons, and the rights protected by the Constitution of the United States are the rights of natural persons only. 2. Money is not speech, and the spending of money to influence elections is not protected speech. The people of the City of Arcata Ordain as follows: To the full extent legally possible under federal and state law, and with the long term goal of changing any federal or state laws that may oppose this ordinance, Within the City of Arcata, CA, corporations shall not have the rights of "Persons" or "The People," as guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States, the Bill of Rights and the Fourteenth Amendment. Only living, breathing human beings shall have such rights. A statement of the reasons of the proposed action as contemplated in the petition is as follows: The reason for this ordinance is to prevent corporations, within the City of Arcata, from claiming Constitutional rights that were granted to “The People” or to “Persons.” The citizens of Arcata hope to nurture and expand democracy in our community and our nation. Democracy means governance by the people, and only persons who are living breathing human beings should be able to participate in the democratic process. Corporations are artificial entities separate and apart from human beings and are not naturally endowed with consciousness or human rights. Corporations are not mentioned in the Constitution of the United States. The Supreme Court has illegitimately defined corporations as "persons," most recently in the “Citizens United” case, and has vested them with constitutional protections guaranteed only to the natural persons by the Bill of Rights and the 14th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. The Court has also defined money as protected speech, for the purpose of allowing unlimited campaign contributions by corporations. Americans across the political spectrum overwhelmingly oppose the Supreme Court's Citizens United ruling. According to a Washington Post-ABC News poll, 80% of Americans oppose the ruling and support action to overrule the Court. The unconstitutional doctrines of “corporate personhood” and “corporate constitutional rights” interfere in the democratic process by allowing corporations to usurp the right of citizens to govern. Corporations threaten democracy by lobbying our legislative bodies, challenging democratically enacted laws, and making contributions which dominate election campaigns. Therefore, We the People of the City Arcata Ordain as follows: To the full extent legally possible under federal and state law, and with the long term goal of changing any federal or state laws that may oppose this ordinance, Within the City of Arcata, CA, corporations shall not have the rights of "Persons" or "The People," as guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States, the Bill of Rights and the Fourteenth Amendment. Only living, breathing human beings shall have such rights. The ordinance acknowledges that it may be opposed by some existing laws and limits its implementation “to the full extent legally possible” under such existing laws. Therefore, We also support efforts to amend the Constitution to establish that
Proposed Ballot Initiative Ordinance for Your Town We hold these truths to be self evident: Corporations are not people. Money is not speech. Be it therefore ordained that: To the full extent possible under federal law, and with the goal of changing any federal laws that may oppose this ordinance, Within Your Town, corporations shall not have the rights of "Persons" or "The People," as guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States, the Bill of Rights and the Fourteenth Amendment. Only living, breathing human beings shall have such rights, and Within Your Town, money shall not be considered to be speech, as protected under the First Amendment. Be it further resolved that: The people of Your Town support amending the U.S. Constitution to establish that: 1. Corporations are not natural persons, and the rights protected by the Constitution of the United States are the rights of natural persons only. 2. Money is not speech, and the spending of money to influence elections is not protected speech. For more info or help with your local efforts: Contact Dave Meserve davemeserve@gmail.com 707-834-3612 | WEBSITE UNDER CONSTRUCTION
Another good source for information on corporate personhood and efforts to reverse it: is
Reclaim Democracy: |
