Res No 168-11-13482RESOLUTION NO. 168-11-13482
A Resolution calling for a United States Constitutional
Amendment redefining the word "person" as the word is
used in the U.S. Constitution so as to exclude legal entities
from its definition.
WHEREAS, government of, by, and for the people has long been a cherished
American value and self governance is a fundamental and inalienable right that is
necessary to secure life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness; and
WHEREAS, free and fair elections are essential to democracy and effective self
governance; and
WHEREAS, our representative form of government was intended to provide
representation for the people and not for legal entities ( "Corporations "); and
WHEREAS, Corporations are entirely man -made and created by express
permission of the people representing their government; and
WHEREAS, Corporations can exist in perpetuity, can exist simultaneously in
many nations at once, and exist solely through the legal charter imposed by the
government of the people; and
WHEREAS, in addition to these advantages, the great wealth of large
Corporations allows those small groups of people who control those large Corporations
to wield disproportionate force of law which has, at times, overpower human beings and
their communities, thus denied individual American people a proportional representation
in their government and adversely affected the exercise of their Constitutional rights; and
WHEREAS, Corporations are not mentioned in the Constitution, and the people
have never specifically granted constitutional rights to Corporations; and
WHEREAS, interpretation of the U.S. Constitution by the United States Supreme
Court to include Corporations in the term `persons' has endowed Corporations with
Constitutional protections only intended to protect the people of the United States; and
WHEREAS, the judicial bestowal of certain civil and political rights upon
Corporations has empowered Corporations to sue municipal and state governments for
adopting laws that violate `Corporate Constitutional rights' even when those laws serve to
protect and defend the rights of human persons and communities; and
WHEREAS, profits and survival of large Corporation are often in direct conflict
with the essential needs and rights of human beings; and
WHEREAS, the recent Supreme Court decision in the case of Citizens United v.
Federal Election Commission, 558 U.S. 08 -205 (2010), has rolled back the legal limits on
Corporate spending in the electoral process and it has created an unequal playing field and
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Res. No. 168 -11 -13482
allows unlimited Corporate spending to influence elections, candidate selection, policy
decisions and sway votes of elected officials against the interest of their human
constituents, in order to ensure competitive campaign funds for their own re- election.
WHEREAS, people and municipalities across the nation are calling for an
amendment to the U.S. Constitution to abolish "Corporate Personhood ".
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY
COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI, FLORIDA, THAT:
Section 1. The City of South Miami hereby calls on its federal Representatives
and Senators and its State Representatives and Senators to join the citizens, grassroots
organizations and local governments across the county in the campaign to call for an
amendment to the United States Constitution to define the word "person" as a human
being and return our democracy, our elections, our communities back to the people of
America and to thus reclaim our sovereign right to self-governance.
Section 2. The City of South Miami calls on other communities and
jurisdictions to pass similar resolutions and join with us in this action.
Section 3. The City of South Miami supports education to increase public
awareness of the threats to our democracy posed by granting constitutional rights to
Corporations, and encourages lively discussion to build understanding and consensus to
take appropriate community and municipal actions to democratically respond to these
threats.
Section 4. This resolution shall take effect immediately upon adoption.
PASSED AND ADOPTED this 4t_ day of October , 2011.
ATTEST:
CITY CLE
Page 2 of 2
VA11990611FAN �
COMMISSION VOTE: 5 -0
Mayor Stoddard:
Yea
Vice Mayor Newman:
Yea
Commissioner Beasley:
Yea
Commissioner Palmer:
Yea
Commissioner Harris:
Yea