"I believe that without government protection, human life, liberty and the freedom to pursue happiness cannot be assured."
Government is by definition a coercive institution. Aside from the fact that the philosophy of John Locke upon which these "inalienable" rights is inherently flawed, there are other problems here.
Any time we give people the power to coerce others, we create injustice. Perhaps not initially, and perhaps not blatantly, but it will inevitably happen. We see this clearly in the monarchies of ages past. The difference between monarchy and democracy is not as large as you might think: whereas monarchy imposes the will of one person upon others, democracy imposes the will of several people (or a majority) upon others. Neither form of government guarantees equality because they are based upon the rule of PEOPLE as opposed to the rule of LAW.
I could cite numerous injustices done by governments here, but I don't think it's necessary. It should be common sense that if you give any human being the power to coerce, they will abuse it. Again, perhaps not initially and perhaps not blatantly, but it will happen.
Government is an institution born to create "more fairness." If you ask me, any amount of unfairness and inequality is too much, especially if a society collectively sanctions it.