I'm fairly much inclined to agree with your various points, Bill, particulary numbers 3 & 4. Yes, the situation today is radically different from the 1770s when there was an unsettled frontier all along the western borders and almost constant warfare between Indians and Whites along it, plus a need for most people to hunt for food and defend themselves against bears, cougars, Indian raiding parties, even each other (given the lack of adequate police presence in frontier areas) etc...

The 2nd Amendment was written in a radically different society from our present one and was totally suitable to the conditions of the time which required a standing militia and a country folk who used guns as a normal part of their survival from day to day. It is no longer nearly as suitable to our present overcrowded urban and suburban realities, and that needs to be legally addressed in some intelligent fashion.

Tell you what....argue this one with Bearded Bruce instead. ;-) You and he have much more to disagree about than you or I do.