Two brothers are walking across the U.S. to urge action on a constitutional amendment. Laird and Robin Monahan are both Vietnam veterans, both in their sixties, and both outraged by the U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision, which overturned the provision of McCain-Feingold barring corporations and unions from paying for independent political ads. “Corporations are an efficient economic tool,” said Laird, 69, at the Capitol on Friday. “But a Supreme Court that puts an economic tool above human beings will guarantee our exclusion from representative government.” Laird says we need a constitutional amendment stating that corporations aren’t people. “That’s what we have to tell all of the governing bodies of all of our municipalities. That if they can’t support a constitutional amendment to abolish corporate personhood, they aren’t representing us. They aren’t loyal to we the people.”
Robin, 67, says there are two distinct ways in which corporations are clearly not people. “What comes to mind first is mortality. Everyone in this room – I’m sorry to tell you – is going to die. Corporations are immortal. That gives them a long period of time to appeal decisions against them or that they find unfavorable to their profit margin,” said Robin. “I would also point out that corporations have huge financial resources that exceed any individual. It gives them unfair and unequal protection.” The brothers left San Francisco on May 16th and hope to reach Washington, D.C. in October.