If you are doing nothing wrong.....

[Bobson]

Point out that the Bill of Rights recognized this issue and the 4th, 5th and 14th Amendments specifically were written to guarantee that the government doesn't engage in the very excesses they're so blase' about.

This is it, and nothing more is necessary. People need to remember the purpose of the Constitution. America's founding fathers left a country where they were being oppressed, and instituted a system of government here that would operate under the basis that the people govern themselves - and that even then, the government poses a potential threat to the common man. That's why the constitution and it's amendments exist: protection. And if the government violates or breeches that constitutionally afforded protection - the purpose of the second amendment comes into play.

"If you're not doing anything wrong, why can't the government look through your stuff?"
Because the government isn't my friend. Its not my protector or your protector. It's a necessary evil; its authority over me is limited by the Constitution. And for the sake of my children and future generations, that authority needs to continue to be limited. To allow an unwarranted look through my stuff would be to grant a certain level of unnecessary authority over me.

You'll get people who scoff at that. Those are the morons your dad warned you about. There's no changing those minds. Move on.

 

[Flynt]

Same answer as for NSA mega-spying: Even if you were to trust the current Administration to not abuse its access to information, once we establish the apparatus, it will probably be abused by a future Administration.

 

[Deaf Smith]

In 1967 New York City passed a long gun (rifle and shotgun) registration law at a nominal fee of $3.

Long gun owners were promised that any increase in costs of administring the law would come out of general public safety funds and the fee would never go over the $3. By year 2000, the registration fee was $55, paid by the registered owner.

When NYC decided to implement its own Assault Weapon Ban in 1991, owners of registered semi-auto military rifles on the ban list were told to show proof the guns had been (a) moved or legally sold and were outside NYC, (b) surrendered to the NYPD, or (c) deactivated.

Currently, the Rifle/Shotgun fees include $89.75 for fingerprinting alone. But there is no longer a charge for registering rifle or shotguns not even $3. You do have to have a permit and the permit fee is $140 + $89.75 FBI fingerprint fee or total of $229.75.

That is all cause their 'promises' have expiration dates. Next administration is not bound by any promises from the previous administration.

It is ALWAYS like that. The Indians found that out first over 200 years ago. White man lies..... in reality it was WHITE POLITICIAN lies. And now days, being a rainbow society, it's ALL Politicians lie. Their 'promises' are not even good after they are elected, much less for future generations,

Deaf

 

[goon]

Because the government isn't my friend. Its not my protector or your protector. It's a necessary evil; its authority over me is limited by the Constitution. And for the sake of my children and future generations, that authority needs to continue to be limited. To allow an unwarranted look through my stuff would be to grant a certain level of unnecessary authority over me.

Well said.
I usually dismiss the "if you have nothing to hide..." crowd as cotton-headed ninnymuggins, disengage, and walk away slowly. But that's more for my own sanity than anything else. Your approach is better.

 

[vaupet]

because doing nothing wrong is culturally and politically determined.

There were (are) times and places in history when people were/are killed just because of their religion, political views, sexual behavior, colour or race.

because I don't know what will be wrong tomorrow, I don't want 'them' to know everything about me.

 

[General Geoff]

As echoed by others in this thread:

Because the government's definition of "wrong" is fickle.

 

[76shuvlinoff]

Thank you all for the great responses, (and education).

Mark

 

[yokel]

Hawaii is touted as one the most, if not the most, Liberal state in the Union. It also is one of the most diverse, racially and culturally. Most folks that have a residence there have previously lived somewhere else, or have another residence in another country. Many come from cultures that were not gun friendly to start with and they brought those thoughts and ideals with them. Most of them were only able to move to Hawaii because they were wealthy and lived an affluent lifestyle unlike the majority of others in their country of origin. Guns, for the most part, were not a part of that lifestyle There is in fact, strong support for Hawaiian sovereignty, as many of the ideals there do not align with those on the mainland. They claim they did not have the ideals of mainland Americans, but had them forced upon them along with U.S. Military occupation back in the 1890s. Thus, the idea that they would rape the 2nd Amendment and the ideals of our founding fathers is easy to understand.

Then how do you explain the pockets within the continental U.S. that apparently regard the Second Amendment as a spurious or false right?

 

[HexHead]

Why would anyone trust the government?