Boulder council to take up 'corporate personhood' referendum - Colorado Daily
Cowles: Supreme Court 'undid a hundred years of precedent and electoral reform' on campaign finance
By Heath Urie Camera Staff Writer
Posted: 06/21/2011 03:19:39 PM MDT
Macon Cowles ( Macon Cowles )
The Boulder City Council will decide whether to put a referendum on the November ballot that calls for amending the U.S. Constitution to abolish "corporate personhood" after all.
Despite being turned down for discussion during the council's May 17 meeting, Councilman Macon Cowles plans to ask the group to put the measure on the ballot during the leaders' meeting on July 19 -- when the council is planning to give initial approval to several potential ballot measures.
"Corporate personhood" refers to last year's U.S. Supreme Court decision in the case of Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commission, in which the justices ruled that corporations can spend unlimited amounts of money on political campaigns because the spending is a form of protected free speech.
Cowles, an attorney, wants Boulder's referendum to clarify that money is not constitutionally protected free speech and that corporations should not have all the rights that people do.
"The Supreme Court's decision in the Citizens United case undid a hundred years of precedent and electoral reform by unleashing corporate treasuries to spend as much as they want to influence the outcome of elections," Cowles wrote in an e-mail to the Camera on Tuesday. "... I believe that Boulder voters should speak to this issue."
Cowles' request is the result of a grassroots effort among Boulder members of Move to Amend -- a national organization dedicated to amending the U.S. Constitution to undo corporate personhood.
"What we're looking for is a deep transformation in our society that says that money will no longer dictate what happens in politics," said Judy Lubow, co-chair of the Boulder County Democratic Party's Grassroots Action Team and a member of Move to Amend.
Read more: http://www.coloradodaily.com/ci_18323929#ixzz1Q6VuuLXJ
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