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'~~ r~~'r~-~,~~ <br />ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ~--z1 '" ~~'' <br />~f cL <br />RESOLUTION SUPPORTING AN AMENDMENT TO THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION TO CLARIFY <br />THAT CORPORATIONS ARE NOT PERSONS <br />Whereas, government of, by, and for the people has long been a cherished American value, and the <br />people's fundamental and inalienable right to self-govern and thereby secure rights to life, liberty, <br />property, and the pursuit of happiness is guaranteed in the US Constitution and the Declaration of <br />Independence, and; <br />Whereas, persons are rightfully recognized as human beings whose essential needs include clean <br />air, clean water, safe and secure food, and; <br />Whereas, corporations are entirely human-made legal fictions created by express permission of the <br />people and our government, and; <br />Whereas, corporations can exist in perpetuity, can exist simultaneously in many nations at once, <br />and exist solely through the legal charter imposed by the government, and; <br />Whereas, corporations are not mentioned in the Constitution, and; <br />Whereas, corporations are not and have never been human beings, and therefore are rightfully <br />subservient to human beings and governments as our legal creations, and; <br />Whereas, interpretation of the US Constitution by the Supreme Court has endowed corporations <br />with Constitutional protections intended only for persons, and; <br />Whereas, free and fair elections are essential to democracy and effective self-governance, and; <br />Whereas, unregulated and excessive expenditures by corporations can pervert the election process; <br />NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Orange County Board of Commissioners commends to <br />our elected Federal representatives and asks that they support the efforts being made on behalf of <br />the people of the United States to amend our United States Constitution to establish that: <br />1. Corporations are not persons and are not entitled to the rights afforded to people by the <br />Constitution. <br />2. Contributions by corporations and other business entities to political parties, candidates, <br />and organizations for the purpose of influencing the outcomes of federal, state, and local <br />elections may be regulated. <br />Be it further resolved that the Orange County Board of Commissioners calls on other communities <br />and jurisdictions to join with us in this action by passing similar Resolutions. <br />This the 215Y day of February, 2012. <br />~ ..e~~.~ <br />Bernadette Pelissier, Chair <br />Orange County Board of Commissioners <br />