I support the Second Amendment. That might seem like a strange subject for your consumer investigator, so allow me to explain.

I’ve wrestled with how much say the government should have in our right to bear arms my entire adult life. I’ve reported many cases of innocent children accidentally shot and killed through the negligence of adults who didn’t secure their firearms. Those are gut-wrenching experiences. I was sharing one such case with a friend when he expressed his reasons for supporting the right of private citizens to bear arms. He said, “the fear of an uprising from armed citizens is the only thing that protects us from the tyranny of the government.”

I thought he was kidding. “What?” I said. “This is the United States of America. We don’t need to be protected from the government.” I was wrong. Have you noticed when your local, state or federal government wants to do something that’s against the law, or worse yet, violates our Constitution, they just do it?

Let me share some examples: Years ago, I saw a car registered to the city of Atlanta parked illegally outside City Hall. The car had a ticket on the windshield, and I watched and videotaped the process as the car was eventually towed away. Even though the car was owned by the city, it was obvious someone was responsible for parking it illegally. So I wrote down the tag number and committed to follow that parking ticket through the traffic court system. The city never prosecuted the manager who parked the car illegally. Why? Because the government decides who has to pay tickets, and even though it would have been quite easy to find the responsible manager, they let it go.

Let’s get serious. The state of Georgia has decided we should pay not once, but twice to use the roads we paid for with our taxes. The state has created so-called HOT lanes that give those who are willing to pay again the opportunity to move through the region in less time. It’s a concept called double taxation, and it’s legal.

Are you mad enough to do something about it? What can you do? For starters, masses of people could simply drive in the HOT lanes and dare the government to enforce the law. That’s not going to happen, and the government knows it.

Let’s get more serious. If you or I chose to intentionally break the law, we would certainly be held accountable. At the same time, the federal government has decided it’s not really important to enforce our immigration laws. The federal government has decided we all have to have health insurance. (It will take years and years for the legality of the health care bill to be adjudicated). When the president or one of his top advisers offers a job to a person as an incentive not to run for office, it’s illegal, but that doesn’t matter to the federal government. Why? Power trumps law.

Here’s my point: Our government is getting bolder and bolder about violating our rights. Want to fight back? Hire a lawyer, file a lawsuit, spend a fortune and be willing to wait five to 10 years. Why? The government controls the speed of the courts, and has access to the bottomless pocket of taxpayer funds in order to fight you.

I’m in no way advocating a violent response to government oppression. It hasn’t gotten to that point, but I’m sure glad they know — we know — we still have the Second Amendment. Let the TrustDale Team know what you think. Visit www.TrustDale.com and email us at Help@TrustDale.com.