can a democratic government ignore the will of the majority?

no--a  democratic government that is not corrupt cannot ignore the will of the people, because democracy, by definition, is government that expresses the will of the majority of its citizens.

why, then, if the majority of U.S. citizens favor stricter gun control laws, doesn't the will of the majority prevail? 

answer: because our government is corrupt.

why is our government corrupt?

answer: instead of government that is controlled by the will of the majority, our government is controlled by a few--party bosses, lobbyists and the parties' wealthiest donors. corrupt politicians, instead of representing the will of the majority of the people who elect them, represent party bosses and wealthy lobbyists, who give corrupt politicians money to elect and re-elect them again and again.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/democracychronicles/16823831141/in/photostream/

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

had enough? 

who do you trust? 

1. someone who has values similar to yours?
The good, the bad & the ugly: let's make America great again
2. someone who doesn't?
3. political parties, financed by billionaire corporations and PACs?

here's how government works:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIAJl-wZElg

if you vote for a republican or a democrat, then it's not the person who you voted for who is in control--it's the party.

File:Two party system diagram.png - Wikimedia Commons

in the next election--national, state or local--vote for anyone except a democrat or a republican. soon the republican and democratic parties will dry up and die. nothing will be better for the United States of America.

PS similarly, by refusing to patronize dishonest and biased media, they too will shrivel up and die--a triple win for honesty in government, for integrity in reporting the actions of government, and for us.