Should McDonald's, Monsanto Have Same Rights as People?

"Democracy Now!" airs weekdays at 9 a.m. PT on KCET.

Five years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its Citizens United v. FEC decision striking down the prohibition on corporate expenditures in federal elections. In a 5-to-4 decision, the Supreme Court ruled that corporations are people, with the same right to influence politics as voters.

Many corporations, including McDonald's, Monsanto, and Peabody Energy, have cited the principle of corporate constitutional rights in recent efforts to fight back against new laws. McDonald's and other franchises are suing the city of Seattle over its new $15-an-hour minimum wage law, arguing it violates its corporate personhood rights. They are basing their case on the 14th Amendment, a constitutional provision written to protect newly freed slaves after the Civil War and ensure equal rights for all people.

Monsanto is challenging Vermont's recently passed GMO-labeling law under the First Amendment, claiming that it forces them to "speak" against their will.

"Democracy Now!" hosts a debate on the movement to draft a constitutional amendment to overturn the doctrine of corporate constitutional rights with two guests: Ron Fein, legal director at Free Speech for People, and Kent Greenfield, professor of law and Dean's Research Scholar at Boston College Law School.