I'm certain of it, and that's why I didn't have a gun until I was 39. Too mentally unstable. Suicidal ideation is no longer on the table, and hasn't been for some time.

And yes, my guns could certainly fight the government. I'd likely die, but how many armed citizens fighting back would the government continue to prosecute? And it's not like they would call in airstrikes on my hood. And how many soldiers would even participate, knowing they would be under fire from every 2nd window?

I watched a video last year of jihadis randomly shooting up a residential block of apartments after last year's Iranian protests. Think that could happen in America? Men running and gunning while the civilians all cower in helplessness? Why or why not?

Or would they even start? Look OP, I'm 52 and never imagined America falling into the fascist hellscape we're facing now. The front runner for the GOP candidacy just called me "vermin", an "internal enemy" that must be exterminated. And he has a solid chance of winning.

So if you think things are bad now, just how bad would they be if the government knew, for a fact, that the citizenry was helpless? I'm not taking bets, not anymore, not with what I've seen this past decade.

You can choose to be peaceful, but if you are unarmed and practiced, you are merely harmless.