Governments either creating or banning “rights” for “nature” is as hot of a topic as ever, and now Utah has not only banned “rights” for Gaia, but far beyond that with HB 0249. It reads, in part:
63G-31-102. Legal personhood restricted.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a governmental entity may not grant legal personhood to, nor recognize legal personhood in:
(1) artificial intelligence;
(2) an inanimate object;
(3) a body of water;
(4) land;
(5) real property;
(6) atmospheric gases;
(7) an astronomical object;
(8) weather;
(9) a plant;
(10) a nonhuman animal; or
(11) any other member of a taxonomic domain that is not a human being.
Corporations were obviously not included in the exclusion since they are run by human on behalf of other humans, ultimately:
“And for those who will say, ‘Corporations have rights, why not rivers?’ — an argument I hear every time I write about this subject — corporations, partnerships, and etc. are human juridical entities and associations, and granting those organizations rights is deemed necessary for ease of conducting business. Whether that should be the law is a discussion worth having, but has no association with granting rights to pond scum and granite outcroppings.”
But notice that this bill nonetheless goes beyond just nature.
It also bans robots with artificial intelligence from having rights.
Johhny 5 hardest hit.
It also means that any intelligent space aliens we meet will have no rights, and could even be bought or sold.
Come to Utah; don’t to forget to bring your gold-pressed latinum!
Of course, that is all science fiction, but far less implausable than the fantasy of Gaia having “rights”.
Full bill can be read here, or below:
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