There isn't a good answer to this dilemma. On the one hand, you're right, the people are sovereign and should not have their rights trampled by an unelected he

There isn't a good answer to this dilemma. On the one hand, you're right, the people are sovereign and should not have their rights trampled by an unelected hegemony. On the other hand, people are stupid, and often too stupid to be trusted to make decisions related to complex matters on which the general person is not an expert. Worse, bad actors have figured out how to exploit freedom of speech to weaponize this stupidity. So we're now in a position where a fundamental human right is also the direct cause of significant human misery.