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Court Decision Favoring Telemarketers Shows the Need to Overturn Corporate Personhood. |
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Wednesday, October 1, 2003 Corporations are not persons, and do not deserve the same rights as 'We the People,' say Greens. WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Members of the Green Party of the United States sharply criticized the legal principle on which U.S. District Judge Edward W. Nottingham based his decision against the Federal Trade Commission's 'do not call' registry for telemarketers. "Corporations are not human beings and they do not deserve the protection of the Bill of Rights," said David Cobb, General Counsel of the Green Party of the United States. "The ruling overturning the 'do not call' list is based on the illegitimate doctrine that corporations have First Amendment rights. This doctrine is as offensive to democracy as 'Separate but Equal' and the Green Party categorically rejects it. Only citizens can claim political rights, and corporations are not citizens." "This is yet another example of how Democrats and Republicans appoint judges biased against the people's interest and for the corporate interest," said Marnie Glickman, co-chair of the Green Party of the United States. "Corporate personhood is an affront to Americans who fought and died for our rights and liberties. The Democratic and Republican leadership ignore this legacy by the judges they appoint." The U.S. Supreme Court first extended First Amendment protection to commercial speech in Bigelow v. Virginia (1975) and Virginia State Board of Pharmacy v. Virginia Citizens Consumer Council, Inc. (1975). Corporations were given many of the same rights and protections as humans in several landmark decisions, including Davison v. New Orleans (1878), Santa Clara v. Southern Pacific Railroad (1886), and Lochner v. New York (1905). Greens say that these decisions bestowed enormous power on corporations, which have few of the liabilities and limitations of citizens. "When the Supreme Court declared corporations to be 'persons," explained Starlene Rankin, California Green and Lavender Green Caucus delegate to the national party, "it converted them from organizational institutions charted in the public interest into selfish entities motivated by profit and enjoying enormous economic, political, and other advantages over real people. That's why corporations can invoke free speech, due process, and privacy rights when we try to hold them accountable for dumping toxic waste, lying about nicotine addiction, secret meetings with public officials over energy policy, or pressuring the U.S. government to invade a foreign country for its oil resources." "We're very pleased that President Bush and Congress have taken the side of the FTC and ordinary citizens in the fight against telemarketers' intrusions," said Greg Gerritt, secretary of the Green Party of the United States. "But we need to address the deeper constitutional crisis. A corporation isn't a person, it's a social construct. Corporations must be made subordinate to the rights and interests of 'We the People." MORE INFORMATION search:
cpr, regpol, rgt |