Purpose of the Bill

The purpose of this legislative resolution is to urge the United States Congress to propose a constitutional amendment that overturns the Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United v. FEC. The bill aims to clarify that constitutional rights apply only to natural persons (i.e., human beings) and not to corporations or other artificial entities. It also seeks to ensure that the act of spending money to influence elections is not considered free speech under the First Amendment.

Main Provisions

1. Constitutional Rights Limited to Natural Persons: The resolution requests that Congress propose an amendment asserting that constitutional rights are the rights of human beings only, not corporations or any other artificial entities.

2. Regulation of Political Entities: It emphasizes that entities established by law, such as organizations or corporations, should not have rights separate from their individual members and should be subject to regulation through appropriate laws.

3. Regulation of Political Contributions and Expenditures: The resolution seeks to empower federal, state, and local governments to regulate, limit, or prohibit financial contributions and expenditures, including those made by candidates themselves, to safeguard equal access to the political process regardless of economic status.

4. Mandatory Disclosure: It mandates that any allowed political contributions and spending be publicly reported to ensure transparency.

Significant Changes to Existing Law

• The bill challenges the precedent set by the Citizens United decision that equated money with speech, therefore providing that spending money in political campaigns should not be considered a protected form of free speech.
• By asserting that only natural persons have constitutional rights, it seeks to diminish the legal powers of corporations and other non-human entities in political processes.

Relevant Terms

• Citizens United v. FEC
• Natural persons
• Artificial entities
• Political contributions
• Constitutional amendment
• First Amendment
• Corporate rights
• Political transparency