When corporations became people

I’m going to move away from genealogy and local history for a few moments today. Perhaps I am the only person who was sick to death of the duel between the two “front-runners” for governor. Unlikely, but possible. Unfortunately, in a year we will begin to start listening to the race for President of the United States heat up. Noticeably, if you are able to read the by-lines on some of the ads (who paid for them), you will know that quite often the candidates themselves are not listed as approving or paying for the same. That protects them from accusations of dirty politics hidden behind the Fourteenth Amendment rights given to corporations.

Fourteenth Amendment, you ask? Well, yes, the Fourteenth Amendment was first passed to expand the protection of civil rights for all Americans not under federal laws but also state laws. It guarantees that states, like the federal government cannot “deprive any person of life, liberty or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of laws.” That is the equal protection segment, protection first guaranteed to those citizens of the United States that had been enslaved.

No where does it say “corporation”, but in 1886 when the case Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad was heard in front of the Supreme Court that court decision included a note by a court reporter quoting Chief Justice Morrison Waite: “The Court does not wish to hear argument on the question whether the provisions in the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution which forbids a state to deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws applies to these corporations. We are all of opinion that it does.”

This footnote was cemented as law by the 1978 Bellotti decision, giving corporations the right to spend unlimited funds on ballot issues because they fell under the First Amendment right to freedom of speech.

Just to make sure a corporation could be considered a person, in the 2010 case, Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, the Court found that political spending by a corporation is a form of free speech and again covered under the First Amendment. The majority opinion of the Court was that even if the speaker is a corporation, the speaker has the right to free speech.

If you really want to get down to the nitty-gritty, you should take a look at the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA) of 2002. Don’t take ZZQUIL that night, you won’t need it.

The point being, in the early days of campaigns, when candidates got down and dirty, their hands were dirty not some unknown corporation. Now, to make matters worse, when issues other than candidates are being put to a vote in our state, national groups who have a desire to have every state think like they do, invade our lives with blanket commercials too.

Freedom of Speech, well yes I support it, but if you DVR your favorite TV shows and then watch them later commercial free, you might just have peace of mind!

SWNGS library is open Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1-4 pm. We are located at 322 Norris Ave., Suite 2-7. You can also join us on www.swngs.org to do an online search at no charge….and no commercials!