Pat ... I still don't agree with you, but you make an intelligent argument.
There are NO acceptable levels of restriction by government on the right to be armed. Accept any level then all levels become acceptable.
But an absolutist would argue that even you find some restrictions acceptable.
i.e. -- what do you define as a child? That term is not defined in the constitution. 13? 18? Many young teenagers got married back then. If congress gets to define that term, maybe they should set it at age 45?
And why do the rights of the COTUS not apply to these children you have somehow defined, since the constitution does not? It doesn't say ... "Shall not infringe for those of drinking age or greater."
Also ... your argument that religious human sacrifice is rightfully prohibited because of the "right to life of the victim." But where is that right enumerated? And if I choose to die, i.e. if I WANT to be crucified or stoned to death or whatever, have I not the right to choose to do that? If I choose to do something or have something happen to me, how am I not the victim?
But the bottom line is ... if I say that registering machine guns is acceptable to me, in NO WAY does that mean that I am accepting a total ban on arms. I don't want my neighbor or anyone else to be able to own WMD or artillery (well, I guess the latter under some circumstances). But I do want him to own just about any other type of firearm he can afford.
Life is not all or nothing. Just like laws about libel are a slippery slope (knowing that you can be stricken of your property if you cannot prove what you say to be true, even though you know it to be true, IS an inhibitor on speech) so are laws about guns.
But Like it or not we're going to live on that slippery slope. The only countries with more free gun laws are probably not good places to live. Like maybe Somalia.
The constitution is a model to follow, not a straight jacket. A damn fine model, to be sure. But in any case, the amendments were purposely written with sparse verbiage to protect the concept while allowing the fine points to be dealt with through legislation.