text: I think most people discussing repealing or changing the 2nd amendment understood that a new amendment would take its place, describing the new restrictions on the government regarding private gun ownership, and that these new restrictions would change what is possible for private citizens. 
  
  Stephen correctly describes the relationship between individual rights and the government and how this relationship is delimited. But he doesn't acknowledge that the degree to which the government is allowed to infringe on our inalienable rights varies from amendment to amendment and has been modified over time by new amendments.