Corporations are not people, but that is irrelevant: (quick thoughts)

As we all know there is a new set of protests going on throughout the country the Occupy Wall Street movement. Now I will not get into the politics of these protests, but there is one sign in particular that caught my attention "corporations are not people". The reason this one caught my interest is the implications that it appears to be presenting, that corporations do not deserve the same protections as an individual. While they are not an individual they do have protections.

In regards to Constitutional rights  whether  we are talking about individual or corporation is irrelevant. The reason for this is the Constitution makes no distinction between an individual or a corporatio in the protection of rights. The Constitution, mainly the Bill of Rights, only list prohibited actions by government, not who or what is protected it lists  and this is what is of  importance. For example the First Amendment states the following "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the   government for a redress of grievances". The First Amendment makes no distinction or even specifically says who speech, freedom of religion, freedom to assemble or grievances are protected, it only states Laws cannot be made to limit it. tThe one thing that needs to be kept in mind is the Bill of Rights is not listing what people's rights are, it is listing additional  prohibitions to government specifically Congress. The Bill of Rights is not a list of what people's rights are, it is a list of very specific protections, it is a list of further limitations on government.

The other thing we have to keep in mind is corporations themselves, what are corporations? Corporations are privately owned property, just as any property you or I may own,  it is also protected. Being property and being owned by an individual or a group of individuals, inherently grants it the same protections from government as anything else. Whether the property is owned by one person or many both aspects are clearly stated as being protected in the Constitution in the Bill of Rights. As mentioned in the First Amendment the freedom to assemble. Nowhere does the First Amendment say what type of assembly this must be, it could be assembly for protest such as with the Occupy Wall Street movement, it could be assembly of like minds to discuss various aspects of science, politics, philosophy, life; or it can be a group of people with a vested mutual financial interest such as a corporation. The First Amendment in itself clearly protect corporations as much as an individual because of the right of association.

Furthermore, the First Amendment is not the only amendment which protects corporations. The fourth amendment the right of to be people to be secure in their persons houses papers and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures, the people is not limited to an individual the term people itself implies all of the people and through the protection of right to assembly any sort of association as well including corporations. The Fifth Amendment makes two cases of corporate protection "... Nor the deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law", and "nor shall private property be taken for public use without just compensation". Both of these have direct application of corporations the fact that Corporation is a asset of private property needs it is protected from seizure without due process of law, nor shall it be taken without due process and just compensation, and then only for the public's use.

The Constitution of the United States of America is based on certain principles that can be found in the Declaration of Independence, that men are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights among these are life liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The key thing here is among, it does not state all of the reasons it is giving a sample. These are the basics of what are called natural rights, other natural rights include freedom of speech, the freedom of religion, the right to property, the right to association, the right to defend oneself. They are the rights that are inherent to all of us by virtue of our Creator weather is God or nature whichever one we believe in, they require nothing from anybody to have. Continuing in the Declaration of Independence the purpose of government is seen, "that to secure these rights governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed". When you take this together that corporations are the private property of an individual or group of individuals through there's free association and the property and Association aren't alienable rights to all of us it is government's job to protect which is the purpose of the Constitution of the United States of America, to secure our rights.