My first amendment proposal included election reform measures. This one is simpler. It focuses on defining persons as natural born (AKA living, breathing people) and denying Constitutional rights to corporations.
- All references to “persons” made in the Constitution and the Amendments thereof, shall mean only natural born persons.
- The rights of “artificial persons” shall be inferior to the rights of natural persons, and consist only of those rights granted by United States Code and the laws of the several States.
- The exercise of sovereign authority is a right reserved exclusively to the Citizens and Nationals of the United States.
#2 may not be necessary, but I think it is prudent and expeditious. Establish the preeminence of human rights over corporate rights and nip a lot of litigation in the bud.
#3 seems vague and unnecessary, and maybe it is.
What I have learned concerning constitutional amendments is that there is frequently room for distortion or loopholes. I am sure that the authors of the 14th amendment never imagined that the term "person" could be so twisted as to be applied to corporations - especially when the same sentence ties the term "person" with life and liberty.
There seems to be a trade-off. Broad policy is inherently vague and subject to reinterpretation. Narrow and explicit language is subject to loopholes.
JOINT RESOLUTION
Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States protecting the political sovereignty of the Citizens of the United States of America.
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled (two-thirds of each House concurring therein), That the following article is proposed as an amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America, which shall be valid to all intents and purposes as part of the Constitution when ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States within seven years after the date of its submission for ratification:
Article
Section 1
All references to “persons” made in the Constitution and the Amendments thereof, shall mean only natural born persons.
Section 2
The rights of “artificial persons” shall be inferior to the rights of natural persons, and consist only of those rights granted by United States Code and the laws of the several States.
Section 3
The exercise of sovereign authority is a right reserved exclusively to the Citizens and Nationals of the United States.
Section 4
Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
This is a preliminary draft.
What would you change? Do you have a counter proposal?
FYI, The first choice in the poll should read:
Amend the Constitution to exclude them from the definition of "person".
I fixed it twice before I published, but it didn't stick. Maybe the quotes were a problem for the poll software.