The Right to Keep and Bear Arms- a Logical View

A right to Keep and Bear arms, as has been laid solid by the Second Amendment. There is a very specific clause in that amendment, that states that this right "shall not be infringed upon". Why are so many Americans so passionate about this? Why do we become angry when the government passes more laws restricting this inalienable freedom? How do we overcome this great and spreading misnomer that it is okay to remove the private, law-abiding citizens' right to own handguns, automatic weapons, etc., when we own these types of guns for the sole purpose of defending ourselves against criminals who already have these weapons?
Some weeks ago, I had a discussion with an acquaintance (who I hold in very high respect) about this ever-pressing issue of gun-control. He seemed to hold some to some notion that it was morally wrong to be able to match might for might.
He failed to understand that this amendment, within what is known as the Bill of Rights, was put in place by our great Founding Fathers because they had first-hand experience of the British Soldiers invading their homes. They wanted to be able to defend themselves, ironically, against the very entity that was put in place to protect them.
We, the people of the twenty-first century, now have other reasons for wanting to maintain our right to keep and bear arms, including the rise in personal robberies, burglaries, rapes, and the occasional murderer, not to mention the Islamic radical terrorist who would love nothing more than to see us all dead to fulfill their warped perception of gaining salvation. But the foremost reason for maintaining my guns is to defend myself against the government, not to destroy the great system laid in place in 1789 when the Constitution was signed, but so that the government does not over-step its boundaries.
Here in the Untied, um, I mean United States of America, our Constitution was designed so that we would have a system of checks and balances for the governmental system, both within and without the political structure. This is readily being undone, one large step at a time. The latest attempt was by Senator Harry Reid, who placed within a bill in congress right now that would, under the name of health care, to dump our gun-owning information into a federal database. (Don't belive me? Check it out on Snopes.com, or for a conservative view, go to NRA.com , or even the Gun Owners of America at http://gunowners.org/a101609.htm - both organizations of which I am a member.)
To me, this is step number 4 or 5 of many in dismantling our Constitution. This would eliminate the governments fear to take away our other rights. Our freedom of speech, which is clearly outlined in the First Amendment, is next, with the "Fairness Doctrine." And in my opinion, nothing could be more more unfair.

How did this all begin? Well, we elected a radical socialist to be our President. We warned you, folks. We warned you.