well, you're exaggerating our positions a bit, but here is the thing.
our founding fathers and those that followed them correctly believed that their role was not to create law, but to discover law. as such, they wrote the bill of rights not as the government graciously granting us liberty out of the kindness of their hearts, but as a necessary recognition of pre-existing, universal human rights. so having a firearm on your person is not just an american civil right but the right of all people everywhere, including the chinese, the north koreans, cubans, and even the english. governments that interfere with this human right are oppressive and interfering with the rights of the people.
it's a parallel of the first amendment right of free speech. you wouldn't claim that the right of free speech is only an american right because of the first amendment, would you? or that it exists elsewhere only because of largesse of government? no, it is a human rights to be enjoyed by all people everywhere, and our founding fathers were wise to document it.
the american bill of rights is a charter of negative liberties, declaring our rights to be off limits and beyond the vote of any majority. as such, the second amendment removes from government a say in who may or may not be armed. if you choose not to carry a gun, that's your free choice. if the government tells you you may not, that's tyranny.
as a free man, it is my human right to purchase any small arm and carry it as I please on public property without filling out any form or asking anyone's permission.
to put it to better than I, here's the atlanta declaration by l. neil smith:
The Atlanta Declaration, by L. Neil Smith
Here's how it begins:
"Every man, woman, and responsible child has an unalienable individual, civil, Constitutional, and human right to obtain, own, and carry, openly or concealed, any weapon --rifle, shotgun, handgun, machinegun, anything --any time, any place, without asking anyone's permission.
"Someday to demonstrate that principle --before I'm lying on my deathbed in a hospital with green plastic tubes up my nose, before arthritis sets in and I have to do it on crutches --I intend to walk the length of Manhattan Island with a handgun openly on my hip, unmolested by any freelance or official parasite. The question is, how do I get there from here?"
It's a good speech, worthy of the read.
