Plus, there's no attempt by the RIAA or anyone else to address the other class of downloading I have done - material I currently own. By my rights as a purchaser, I'm allowed to make copies for my own personal use. This never gets mentioned, but most of my friends do the same thing. We download songs that we already own, because the computer may not be convenient to the stereo... or because our roommates wish to listen to something else... or so we can listen to the songs on headphones while browsing/playing whatever.

No one I've ever met in the business objects to this. Once you've bought it you should be able to play it wherever and whenever you want on whatever equipment you have.
Just don't rip it for a friend!