I have read with interest a number of letters about the rights of corporations. Everyone realizes corporations are a creation of the state, and therefore can only have the rights bestowed upon it by its creator. The state cannot make a corporation breathe, walk about, feel pain, obtain a drivers license, vote and an assortment of other things.
Look up corporate rights on Google. The rights extended to corporations were given so corporations could do business. It was an economic necessity. In order to do business a corporation needed the right contract … to represent itself in court as either a plaintiff or a defendant … the right to buy and sell its products, … to own real property. In those instances a corporation was accorded the same rights as a person. It did not acquire the right to vote, breathe or obtain a drivers license.
Our government is created of the people, by the people and for the people … there is no mention of corporations being people. A corporation is a legal entity created by a government of the people. It can be limited by its creators.
Corporations can marry by merging. I wonder if that is same sex marriage. Those marriages are not legal in all states. The federal government has not approved of same sex marriages yet the federal government still manages corporate mergers.
Corporations are made up of shareholders. Large corporations are made up of many, many shareholders. Before corporations can spend money advocating a candidate or a political party they should need the approval of at least a majority of their shareholders. Any attempt to fulfill that requirement would produce many lawsuits. It would effectively delay any action until after the election was over. Any cursory look at our legal system grinding exceedingly slow would assure limiting a corporation’s right to unduly influence elections.
In my 85 years as a person and my 50 years as a lawyer I am aware the Supreme Court has made a few errors. The Supreme Court made a mistake in allowing corporations to spend unlimited money in elections under the freedom of speech amendment.
John W. Robinson
Corvallis