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Attorney here!* The relevant part of the First Amendment states (emphasis mine): "...OR the right of the people peaceably to assemble, AND to petition the Gov
by otterley 6y ago
Attorney here!*
The relevant part of the First Amendment states (emphasis mine):
"...OR the right of the people peaceably to assemble, AND to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
This is preceded by a semicolon, making this clause a compound clause. The right to petition the Government is conferred both on individuals and on assemblies (organizations), and has been since the nation was founded. And this principle has been taken as gospel in law as interpreted by our Courts since the nation's founding.
(*IAAL but this is not legal advice. Seek licensed counsel in your jurisdiction if you need legal advice.)
- scottlocklin 6y agoAin't you actually a golang coder? Fuck corporations: their charters which protect their operators and owners from liability only exist only to serve the public good. Monstrosities like amazon should be destroyed with its board and enablers hanging from live oaks for bribing congressmen and subverting the public good. But hey, that's just my opinion, man.
- otterley 6y agoI do that too! (Long time no see, old friend.)
- missedthecue 6y agoExcuse me? Is the former chairman of Sears on hacker news?
- baix777 6y agoBut the type of organization that is a corporation didn't exist when the constitution was written. Much like nuclear arms (and chemical, and biological) didn't exist when the constitution was written so we don't consider them covered by the second amendment.
- triceratops 6y agoJoint stock corporations predate the US constitution.
- Anon1096 6y agoWe don't consider nuclear warheads to be covered under the second amendment because they are munitions, not arms. What you're saying is a little ridiculous - do you expect that something written on the Internet is not covered by the first amendment, simply because it didn't exist at the time the amendment was written? Of course not. Technological progress is easily covered by the Constitution.
- kortilla 6y agohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_India_Company https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_India_Company
- bzbarsky 6y agoThe English East India Company was set up along lines pretty similar to today's corporations, and that happened almost 200 years before the constitution was written (1600, to be precise). By 1720 you definitely have bubbles involving corporate stocks (see South Sea Bubble). By the time you get to the late 18th century (i.e. about when the Constitution was written) you have publications with titles like "A Treatise on the Law of Corporations"; just keep reading the Wikipedia entry above. That was published 7 years after the US Constitution was ratified, but of course the laws and corporations it was talking abot had been around for _quite_ a while at that point.
- JackFr 6y agoIt certainly did. Among others, the Virginia Company, the Plymouth Company, the British East India Company all featured tradeable shares, perpetual lifetime, limited liability and legal personhood. What makes the modern economy so different is the democraticization of incorporation. Prior to the 19th century it took a specific legislative act to incorporate.
- supernova87a 6y agoMaybe that's something we need to bring back -- limits on how many and how large corporations can be? Before they take over running all of society? Right now you can create infinite corporations, with little to no traceability as to who's really responsible. Maybe there should be some limits?
- paulstovell 6y agoBritish East India company had its own army and literally did run a big part of society. Amazon doesn’t have an army at least. Maybe we are trending in the right direction.