You Can’t Marry a Corporation (Video)

Posted on Jul 19, 2012

Jeff Belmonte (CC BY 2.0)

Correction: An earlier version of this article described a marriage between a woman and a corporation. In legal terms, this was incorrect. Since there is a three day waiting period before a marriage license is valid in the state of Washington, no marriage took place under the law.

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That’s what a King County official said after confirming that a Seattle woman tried to marry a “corporate person” in a stunt held to challenge the Supreme Court’s 1886 decision recognizing corporations as people and its 2010 Citizens United ruling that opened the floodgates of political campaign spending.

The event is believed to be the first-ever attempt at a marriage between a woman and a corporation. Without any hint of the absurdity of the ceremony, the county spokesperson explained why the marriage was not allowed:

“...  When either party to a marriage is incapable of consent then it’s void, no longer valid, or not valid period. So that’s the basis in which we went ahead and voided the application. We went ahead and did that ourselves within our office because by the time it would’ve gone to the state, they would’ve voided it anyways. So we just avoided that altogether and voided it here.”

See footage of the wedding party convincing the county clerk to go through with the process below.

—Posted by Alexander Reed Kelly.

NPR KPLU:

The nuptial saga all started as a publicity stunt to draw attention to the U.S. Supreme Court’s recognition of corporations as people in the controversial Citizens United decision in 2010.

Angela Marie Vogel, a local activist with ties to #MicCheckWallSteet and a initiative campaign to nullify Citizens United’s effects in Seattle, used a figure from an art installation in a downtown Seattle park to marry “Corporate Person.”

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