Sorry, I just don't buy this.
What scenario do you envisage whereby the government would attempt to impose something that was SO unpopular, that the electorate would resist it with small arms?
In such a case, NOBODY could win. In a shooting war between the US government and the people, where the people have a bunch of handguns and hunting rifles, and the government has Strategic Air Command, who do you think would triumph? And what kind of triumph would that be? You only have to think of it for a few moments to realise the absurdity of the very concept.
It's certainly true that the government is running scared of the gun lobby. But that's for electoral reasons, not firepower ones. Let go of the **** wild west, FFS.
Mike, I didn't say I agree with the pro gun side.... I said I understand their position. Big difference. Of course, if the shit hit the fan and the government started rounding up "domestic terrorists", there is no chance of civilian militias winning any kind of "war"...
But people have a deep mistrust of government, and much of that distrust is warranted, based on what they've done abroad and here at home. The erosion of our civil liberties, beginning with The Patriot Act and continuing with the NDAA and surveillance drones, makes people uneasy.