Innocent until damned for lack of evidence?

Silly me, I had always assumed that we were innocent until proven otherwise. (What my not-so-sainted father had evidently neglected to tell me when he taught me that, was that one's innocence often depends upon whom is in control of the local government at the time.) So, OK ...thereupon hangs a tale:
While I was on deployment, my son's roomate went bonkers and broke into the weapons locker, grabbed a pistol, called the Milwaukee Police Department and swore he was going to hurt himself. Milwaukee's finest showed up, took afore-mentioned thoroughly bonkered roomate into detention, and then promptly (and properly, I might add,) confiscated the weapons, the ammunition, and even the broken weapons locker.
Is this a good time to mention the fact that I have no problem with any of this, so far?
My part in all this began when I came home from deployment, and had to petition the Milwaukee municipal government for return of my own firearms.
Did I mention the fact that I -- so far -- have no problem with any of this? Thought I had.
OK ... so I call the MPD, and am given a sheaf of papers to fill out, make quadrupicate copies of all of them, and am given a pre-printed list of everyone who needs to get a copy.
The list also demanded I provide proof of ownership. Hmmm....I said to myself, "Self? This could be a problem," as many of the receipts from the original firearms sales had gone astray over the years.
I called the BATF, who track ALL firearms purchases. Yes, they replied, they'd be happy to supply me with copies of the sales documents for all my firearms ... IF I happened to be a police officer.
"But it's the police who are demanding this proof," I said, flustered. "Well, then they'll have to write letters asking for our assistance." "Letters, in plural?" I asked. "Yes, they'll have to write one letter for each firearm," the BATF-type answered smugly.
So I called MPD again, and told them they'd have to request the documents. "That's not what we do here," the investigating officer replied. (Hear that noise in the background? That's the walls beginning to move in. Just imagine that scene in Star Wars when our heroes land in a starship trash compactor, and one of them spouts, "I've got a bad feeling about this.")
"I've got a bad feeling about this," I said to the detective.
Undeterred (well, mostly, anyway,) I wrote out long narratives describing each firearm and how it came into our family. N.B. a couple of those pieces have been in our family for decades ... certainly long before record-keeping was a requirement.
The day of the court hearing arrived, and so did I, making sure to wear my US Navy polo shirt (Hell, maybe they're patriotic! Hey, it could happen!) and a clean pair of khaki pants.
Fortunately, the magistrate who heard the case was sympathetic -- especially since no crime had ever been committed with the afore-mentioned firearms.
But the District Attorney hadn't had HIS turn yet. "Your honor, there is some question about legitimate ownership, here," he said. "Mr. Breyfogle has not submitted proof of ownership documents."
I explained that the DA or his police detectives could gain those documents anytime they wanted, but us Commoners had as little access to our OWN RECORDS as I currently had to my own firearms.
The magistrated snorted at that, nodding his head.
Bottom line: I squeaked by and was granted ownership of my own property. (It still took a court order and several weeks until the MPD grudgingly returned my property to me.)
I checked with a local gunshop owner, and he nodded. Nothing new there, he said. "The MPD is trying to get all guns off the streets and out of peoples' hands," he said. "They figure if they take yours, then that's a few less they have to pry out of someone's hands in the future."
Excuse me? Weren't there those guys in the powdered wigs and pantaloons, otherwise known as the Founding Fathers, who went to war against a superpower for the rights to life, liberty and PROPERTY? (Check it out ... that bit about "pursuit of happiness" was a later draft ... and no, I was NOT there to has it out with them.)