Heather Sturgill, a volunteer with Move to Amend Miami County, Ohio, explores how corporations have more rights than people. She calls on readers to urge their representatives to support House Joint Resolution 54, the We the People Amendment.

As we approach the May 10th anniversary of the 1886 Supreme Court’s Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad Company decision it is becoming increasingly clear that corporations have more rights than flesh and blood people. Though the decision itself did not explicitly grant corporations personhood, the headnote written by the court reporter stated that corporations are entitled to protection under the Fourteenth Amendment, a provision originally designed to protect freed slaves.

Section 1 of the 14^th amendment of the U.S. Constitution includes “nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”

In subsequent decades, this clause has been applied in a range of contexts, including to shield corporations from certain forms of government action. A notable example occurred in General Dynamics Corp. v. United States (2011), when the Supreme Court held that the government could not pursue its claims against the defense contractor without disclosing classified information essential to the company's defense. Because the evidence in question involved state secrets, the Court concluded that the proper course was to dismiss the claims, effectively protecting the corporation’s procedural rights under the due process clause.

Critics of the expanding scope of corporate rights contend that this legal doctrine has increasingly insulated powerful economic actors from accountability, even as individuals—particularly immigrants and undocumented residents—face significant hurdles in asserting their own rights.

In recent months, the Trump administration has intensified immigration enforcement, often citing national security to justify withholding information. For instance, in March 2025, the U.S. designated the Tren de Aragua gang, as a terrorist organization, then rounded up over 250 supposedly Venezuelan migrants and deported them to El Salvador, claiming they were linked to the gang. However, the U.S. government did not provide families or the media with names, evidence of crimes, or affiliations, citing operational security.

The use of national security to withhold information in immigration cases is not new. Senator Chris Van Hollen recently criticized the current administration for deporting Kilmar Ábrego García, a Maryland resident. And, despite a unanimous Supreme Court decision that ordered the administration to facilitate his return, he has yet to be brought back. The administration accuses García of MS-13 gang affiliation but has not filed any charges related to that accusation, raising questions about the use of unverified allegations to justify deportations. ​

Withholding information prevents individuals from challenging their detention or deportation effectively. And, the lack of access to evidence and legal recourse raises concerns about potential abuses of power and the erosion of constitutional protections.

Now, if we contrast the actions of the U.S. administration when dealing with people, vs when dealing with corporations we see that in the last decade, the principle of corporate personhood has been used to the advantage of powerful corporations, while ordinary flesh and blood persons often face less favorable outcomes when seeking justice.

As the country marks the anniversary of the Santa Clara decision, some activists and lawmakers are calling for a reevaluation of corporate rights and their broader implications.

Contact your State level representatives (www.ohiosenate.gov and https://ohiohouse.gov/) and ask them: “In the Ohio Senate, Kent Smith and Nickie Antonio have introduced S.R. No. 93 that calls for an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to end ‘corporate personhood’ and ‘money as speech.’ We expect a similar resolution to be introduced in the House. Will you support this?”

Contact your representative in Congress (202-224-3121) and ask them: “Please support House Joint Resolution 54 (HJR 54). It’s a call for a 28th Amendment to the Constitution that restores that fundamental promise of our Republic: government of, by, and for the people.”

Contact your Senators (Husted & Moreno 202-224-3121) and ask them: “Please to cosponsor a companion resolution to House Joint Resolution 54 (HJR 54) when it's introduced in the Senate. It’s a call for a 28th Amendment to the Constitution that restores that fundamental promise of our Republic: government of, by, and for the people.”

Letter to the Editor
April 19, 2025
https://miamivalleytoday.com/democracy-begins-at-the-local-level/

To the editor:

Democracy begins at the local level. It’s where we discuss community problems and find solutions. It’s also where we explore questions of principle—in particular, principles that guide our country and affect each of us, regardless of our political affiliation. This has been true since our nation’s founding.

In Ohio, 26 communities have explored the question of corporate power and big money in politics. As a result, they have passed resolutions, ordinances, and/or citizen ballot initiatives supporting an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that makes two things clear: (1) corporations and other artificial entities do not have constitutional rights and (2) money is not speech and campaign spending should be regulated.

Heather Sturgill, a volunteer with Move to Amend Miami County, writes to the Dayton Daily News to explain how Ohio House Bill 30 unfairly benefits the ultra wealthy.  

Ohio HB 30 would implement a “flat tax,” meaning teachers, home health aides, nurses, and warehouse workers would pay the same tax rate as billionaires. At first glance, this might seem fair — but it’s not. Percentages matter — and they’re relative. A flat tax is only fair if everything else — housing, food, medicine — each costs a certain % of income. But they don’t.

Example: Ohio’s Education Dept. poverty rate = $27,180 vs Musk’s Tesla compensation = $46 billion.

A $.74 Walmart apple = 0.00272% of the annual income of someone in poverty.0.00272% of Musk’s income = $1.84M for that same apple. Children’s cough syrup costs $6.99. That’s 0.0257% for that person in poverty. 0.0257% for Musk makes that same cough syrup cost = $11.5M. The cheapest Miami County apartment on Zillow = $635/month or $7,620/year. That’s 28% of a poverty-level income.28% of Musk’s income for that same apartment = about $13 BILLION.

A flat tax ignores that no other required expenses are a % of our income, essentially making this a tax break for the wealthy…that don’t NEED the tax break.

When Musk/other millionaires pay the same % of their income for apples & cough syrup as us, then we can talk about him paying the same % income tax rate. Until then, NO to HB 30.

Contact your Ohio House Representative and tell them “NO to HB 30. NO flat tax that treats billionaires like broke workers!”

- Heather Sturgill, Cincinnati

Greg Coleridge, national co-director of Move to Amend, will discuss corporate money in politics at 6 p.m. March 26 at Birchard Public Library, according to an announcement.

Coleridge said a record $20 billion was spent on the 2024 presidential campaign, with much of it coming from billionaires and corporations.

“Proposed corporate regulatory cuts, billionaire tax cuts and cuts to federal programs relied on by middle and lower-income people are simply the predictable results of a rigged political system,” Coleridge said.

Updated: Mar. 11, 2025, 11:26 a.m. | Published: Mar. 11, 2025, 9:34 a.m.
https://www.cleveland.com/community/2025/03/a-more-than-capacity-crowd-attends-chagrin-falls-move-to-amend-day.html

On March 10, Chagrin Falls Village Council hosted "Move to Amend Day,"
giving residents a chance to speak on issues they are passionate about.
Matt Leavitt

Miami Valley Today
March 1, 2025

By Deb Hogshead

Guest columnist

January 21 was the 15th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision, a ruling that opened the floodgates of big money into political campaigns. At the Troy City Council meeting that night, I made a statement explaining why we need to close those floodgates and end the misguided doctrine that a corporation is a person with the same inherent, inalienable constitutional rights as you and me.

Since then, we’ve seen two very significant things happen.

First, we’ve seen how $288 million can buy a seat in the White House and a platform to speak from the Oval Office.

Second, we’ve seen the We the People Amendment get re-introduced in Congress as House Joint Resolution 54. The proposed amendment requires the regulation of campaign spending and makes clear that constitutional rights belong to natural persons only.

Cleveland.com | January 29, 2025

FILE - The Supreme Court in Washington, June 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File) AP

Dayton Daily News | January 21, 2025

Heather Sturgill is a resident of Troy, OH and volunteers with the local “Move to Amend.” (CONTRIBUTED)

January 21 marks 15 years since the Supreme Court’s Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision, which equated corporate political spending with free speech and reinforced the notion of “corporate personhood”. This ruling has had profound impacts, granting corporations outsized influence over our political landscape. Recent events underscore the dangers of equating corporate rights with individual rights, particularly when such actions undermine public welfare.

News articles about ByteDance, being forced to sell TikTok over national security issues underscores these risks. But TikTok isn’t the only foreign owned company in the US. According to the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, as of January 2023, 252 Chinese companies were listed on the top three U.S. stock exchanges. This figure excludes smaller private businesses and companies with over 50% foreign-owned stockholders.