Dear 2nd Amendment fans, lovers, and followers: Hi, how are you? You're probably wondering, who are you and why are you talking like you're writing a letter right now? Well, gun people, I am the 4th Amendment and I'm writing to you because I - no, [i]we[/i] - need your help. We all know how much you love your right to keep and bear arms. We've all seen how aggressively you will rally against any perceived incursion by the government on said right. Even in the immediate aftermath of a shooting like the one in San Bernardino, you will not only fight any proposed restrictions, you will line up to buy more guns and ammo the next day. But I'm not here to talk about how much you love your guns, I'm here to ask you to split that power and fervor with me, your right to be protected from unfair search and seizure and your implied right to privacy. With requests like the one Apple is being asked to do, we give up more and more of our fundamental rights all the time. The government is mass collecting our data. Secret courts allow them to search it almost with impunity, and with no significant results, either. Yet the feds have somehow convinced themselves that they're on the right path by collecting more and more of our information. And now they want companies to create mechanisms to break through some of the last walls between us and them. But we can fight this - by using the same energy that we use to protect our right to bear arms. If people who want their personal info to stay safe and secure fought intrusion with the same energy that people who fight to keep their firearms unregulated do, we would be a very privacy-orientated nation. The problem is that while gun regulations are highly visible and simple to grasp (you can/can't have whatever firearm/ accessory /ammo it may be), the government can operate in secret when it comes to privacy. They can subpoena records from the companies that hold them for years, under the guise that those records technically aren't "yours" (although they should be). Ironically, the courts that allow them to do this are secret, because privacy is important when it's them and not you. So what do you say, 2nd Amendment followers? Can we share some of the power and influence you hold? And before you answer, consider that being able to access more of your personal data means being able to better keep track of who owns what firearms. Ever taken a picture of your guns with your phone? Ever call your local gun range or text your shooting buddies? That's more data up for grabs - unless you help me, too. That's all for now. Sincerely yours (albeit feeling a bit unappreciated at the moment) The 4th Amendment