Smith, Antonio Call for End of Corporate Personhood

Today, Senate Democratic Whip Kent Smith (D-Euclid) and Senate Democratic Leader Nickie J. Antonio (D-Lakewood) introduced legislation that calls on state and federal legislators to support an amendment to the United States Constitution that would eliminate corporate personhood and the legal doctrine of money being equated with political speech.

“This resolution seeks to remove the concentrated, corrupting influence of money from our elections and our politics,” said Smith. “Citizens should have the right to elected officials who are responsive to their needs, not the needs of wealthy corporations. We need our government to be by the people and for the people. ”

The federal constitutional amendment refers to the Citizens United decision that removed legal limits on corporate spending in elections, creating an uneven playing field that allows unlimited spending by wealthy individuals, corporations, and other entities to influence elections and policy decisions. 

"The Citizens United ruling has enabled the wealthy and powerful to wield excessive influence over our democracy," said Antonio. "Our government was created to serve the people, and their voices deserve to be heard. Now is the time for Ohio to take a stand and help end dark money and the culture of corruption."

According to Move To Amend Ohio, 17 states and over 600 municipalities in the United States, including 27 in Ohio, have already approved resolutions or voted for ballot initiatives calling for a 28th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution to affirm only human beings have constitutional free speech rights while defining money as property, not speech.