i recognize your concern over protection from the government, but how do you propose that we resolve the issue of the intent of the founding fathers? does intent fall by the wayside if justice fails by way of vast changes in society over hundreds of years? do you decide? do we decide? do we disagree? what is the purpose of government if not to experiment through legislation? accepting the reality that the government needs to legislate, sometimes against incongruous with the express language of the constitution, does not prohibit one from disagreeing with such legislation.
decisions need to be made, for better or worse. those in power have been either elected or appointed via a series of checks and balances that are at some point subject to and influenced by public opinion. or at least predominant public opinion. i'm mostly playing devil's advocate here to get a better understanding of to what degree you stand behind your comment on distrusting the government to decide what's best. the reality is that there are a plethora of opinions on things like gun control.
whose opinion should control the matter? is there ever a point where it's acceptable to diverge from something like the second amendment? many say yes, and some say now. i personally think there's a middle ground. an absolute right to bear arms, of any kind, seems unreasonable to me in light of the innovations leading to high powered full automatic weapons which may not have been considered in the 18th century. i also believe that knee jerk reactions to violent tragedies by legislation can create a slippery slope that over reaches constitutional rights. my point is there's flexibility here, or at least potential for flexibility, such that we're not locked into all or nothing positions.
so again, who decides what is best for us as citizens? do citizens themselves? how is that handled when we disagree? what if your position on something like this is in the minority amongst your fellow citizens? did the founding fathers know what was best for us?
edit: spelling
