Page "Legal personality" Paragraph 25

In part as a matter of subsequent interpretations of the word " person " in the Fourteenth Amendment, U. S. courts have extended certain constitutional protections to corporations.

Opponents of " corporate personhood " don't necessarily want to eliminate legal entities, but do want to limit these rights to those provided by state constitutions through constitutional amendment.

Often, this is motivated by a desire to restrict the political speech and donations of corporations, lobby groups, lobbyists, and political parties.

Social commentator Thom Hartmann is among those that share this view.

Because legal persons have limited " free speech " rights, legislation meant to eliminate campaign contributions by legal persons ( notably, corporations and labor unions ) has been repeatedly struck down by various courts.

On January 21, 2010, the Supreme Court of the United States, deciding Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission by a 5-4 majority, removed restrictions on some types of corporate spending in support of ( or in opposition to ) specific candidates.

This dramatically expanded the free speech rights of corporations.