Originally Posted by 1010011010

The Bill of Rights accords no rights. The Bill of Rights limits federal power to infringe certain Rights. It's a formal acknowledgement that these Rights exist, but they exist independent of the government. Since the government does not grant these Rights, it cannot take them away.

The reason people get a bug up their ass when people say "Just amend the Constitution." in respect to the 2nd amendment (or any of the Bill of Rights, really), is that if you say there's a way to wave a magic pen and remove the Right to Keep and Bear Arms... that way will work just as well for the Right to Free Expression, Free Exercise of Religion, et al.They'd still exist, they'd just be unjustly infringed and oppressed. And it would be our duty to fight injustice. That's part of the reason why we continue to create the US Government... to protect our rights and, to a recently much lesser extent, protect the rights of others. If it becomes incompetent or ineffective at that task, or hostile to that task, it serves no further useful purpose.