Firms’ campaign-donation ban stands

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court declined an opportunity to give businesses broader rights to contribute money to political candidates and causes.

The justices, without comment Monday, refused to question a Massachusetts law that bars for-profit corporations from making campaign donations.

Two family-owned businesses, represented by the libertarian Goldwater Institute, challenged the law and urged the Supreme Court to overturn a 2003 decision that upheld limits on corporate contributions.

The two businesses, 1A Auto Inc. and 126 Self Storage Inc., argued that Massachusetts must at least let corporations donate through political action committees, as is allowed at the federal level.

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, the state’s highest tribunal, upheld the state law as a legitimate means of guarding against corruption.