The rector of All Saints Church in Pasadena, California, has endorsed a proposed constitutional amendment that reverses the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in 2010 on political donations by corporations.
The Rev. Edwin J. Bacon, rector of All Saints since 1995, endorsed the initiative in “Turn Around,” a sermon he preached Sunday. The complete sermon is available on the All Saints website.
“January 21, yesterday, marked the second anniversary of Citizens United v. the FEC [Federal Election Commission], where a narrow majority of the U.S. Supreme Court asserted that the constitution prevents Congress from limiting the amount of money that can be spent influencing our elections,” Bacon said.
“The U.S. Constitution has served us very well, but now when the Supreme Court says, for purposes of the First Amendment, that corporations are people, that writing checks from the company’s bank account is constitutionally protected speech, and that attempts by the federal government and states to impose reasonable restrictions on campaign ads are unconstitutional, our democracy is in grave danger,” he added.
“So today I join in the call for a constitutional amendment to ensure that Citizens United is reversed and that corporate personhood is reversed. That is the wrong direction for this country. We need to take the exit ramp and turn around.”
Matthew Townsend is a Halifax-based freelance journalist and volunteer advocate for survivors of sexual misconduct in Anglican settings. He served as editor of the Anglican Journal from 2019 to 2021 and communications missioner for the Anglican Diocese of Quebec from 2019 to 2022. He and his wife recently entered catechism class in the Orthodox Church in America.
