Debating rights

Whitewater and Fort to vote on ‘personhood of corporations’

By Bob Peryea

Correspondent

Residents of Whitewater and Fort Atkinson will have the chance to vote on the “personhood of corporations” on April 2, according to a statement on the website of Move to Amend, a group seeking a constitutional amendment.

In 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an opinion that overturned decades of earlier opinions and legislation. The case, Citizens United vs. The Federal Election Commission, found, in essence, corporations – non-profit or for profit – have the right to free speech as citizens.

The case, and its implications, were and are very controversial. The court split 5-4 in its ruling.

For critics, the Supreme Court’s decision effectively gave corporations a legal status of a company created, the same constitutional rights that are granted to the citizens of the United States.

The resolution presented to both the Whitewater and Fort Atkinson common councils states, in part, “corporations are entirely human-made legal fictions created by express permission of We the People and our government.”

The resolution concludes with its description of a Constitutional Amendment that is being sought, “1. Only human beings-not corporations, limited liability companies, unions, non-profit organizations, or similar associations and corporate entities-are endowed with constitutional rights, and 2. Money is not speech, and therefore regulating political contributions and spending is not equivalent to limiting political speech.”

Dan Fary, who heads the Rock River affiliate to the Move to Amend national organization, said, “The board in Fort Atkinson voted unanimously to put the amendment on the April ballot. That will give us an opportunity to teach voters what this is and to show how broad the support for this change is.”

Fary said that Move to Amend is a nonpartisan movement with people of all political beliefs working to reverse the Supreme Court’s decision.

He said he expects the governing boards in Milton, Jefferson, Lake Mills and Watertown to consider similar resolutions. He also said that other Walworth County cities and villages are awaiting local residents to step forward and champion the cause before their boards.

Similar resolutions have been passed in dozens of towns and cities around the country. In November, more than 150 cities voted in favor of a Constitutional Amendment, including the City of Eau Claire, which voted 71 percent in favor of the action.

James Hartwick, a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, arrived at the Whitewater Common Council chambers this fall with more than 800 signatures on a petition to include the action on April’s ballot. According to state statutes, just slightly more than 600 were required.

This past April, more than 100 cities and towns passed the amendment.

According the Move to Amend website, voters in dozens of towns and cities throughout the state can expect to see this question during upcoming ballots.