Burlington Councilors Want Corporate Personhood On Ballot

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(Host) Some city councilors in Burlington want the city to adopt a resolution urging Congress to amend the Constitution and strip corporations of their rights to free speech.

The proposed resolution spells out that the city disagrees with giving corporations personhood status.

If the City Council goes along, the resolution would appear as an advisory question on Burlington’s Town Meeting Day ballot.

City Councilor Ed Adrian is one of the resolution’s sponsors. He says the Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens-United decision has diluted grassroots politics by giving corporations the rights of people.

(Adrian) "What it essentially comes down to is how much money can you make and spend in order to advocate for a particular cause. And because of the corporate structure that was set in the opinion of Citizens, and it really puts people, real people at a disadvantage."

(Host) Adrian says Burlington is ‘uniquely situated’ to be an agent of constitutional change because it is Vermont’s largest city.

Similar efforts are under way in cities across the country. Los Angeles has adopted a similar resolution.

The nonprofit group Move To Amend is part of a nationwide coalition. It wants to put resolutions on the ballot in virtually every community at 2012 Town Meeting.  

Organizers say they don’t know how many Vermont towns and cities are considering the question. But they’ve helped more than 20 communities across the country to do so, including several where the question was posed directly to voters.

Senator Bernie Sanders has already introduced a bill that would amend the constitution, saying that corporations are not persons.

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