Thank you for mentioning this one critical fact. It's one that even most Freepers seem to overlook.
I've been following this conversation (like a great many of you) for a lot of years now, and have noted that, by best estimates, there are approximately 100 million citizen gun owners in this country. Best estimates also say that those 100 million citizens possess an estimated 300 million firearms.
Frankly, it simply isn't possible to reduce a population of 300 million people to absolute slavery, when a full third of them are so armed.
In the American Revolution, approximately 3% actually took up arms against the British. Remember that they were officially British citizens at the time. Today, that percentage would likely be much higher, as the government attempting to enslave us wouldn't be some far away kingdom, but a government composed of our own citizens, right here on our own ground. That fact alone makes it much more personal and volatile.
If I had to guess, I'd say that at least 10% of the gun owning public would not stand down in such a fight, and would be willing to lay down their lives to support their families and fellow countrymen. That's 10 million able bodied citizens against a probable 1.5 million armed federal troops, many of whom would be torn between obeying orders to subjugate their fellow Americans, and adhering to their oaths to the Constitution (and their natural inborn loyalty to family and friends).
I'm sure that this scenario has been war gamed out by our military numerous times, and each and every time, they've determined that it's not possible to overcome the US civilian population by force.
My prediction is that they will never try such a thing, as long as Americans are armed. Even a fool understands that they have no chance of success with such dismal odds. No - they'll have to disarm us first, and that won't happen without bringing on the fight they cannot win.
Don’t forget that a good portion of those 100 million are progressives. I’d guess at least 20 million. This isn’t going to be a clean sweep.
When the bullets start flying and electricity becomes intermittent that there three groups of people who are at the top of list for burial, the elderly, the infirm, and the very young. If you are on a dialysis machine or an oxygen concentrator or use medicines that rapidly spoil if not refrigerated, you are in serious trouble.
If you are a nonprepper, you will be out on the street looking for food because one of the first things that will come to a serious slowdown will be the trucking industry. “If you’ve got it, a truck brought it” is not just a cute saying. It’s the truth, the full truth and nothing but the truth. There won’t be many truckers who will feel it is their patriotic duty to haul a load of fresh vegetables to your town if there is shooting on the highways between the pickup and destination points.
In a couple of days all gas deliveries to the local gas stations will have ceased. Nobody I know will drive a truck that is guaranteed to explode when the odds of a tracer round puncturing the side of it are high.
So think twice and then think again before firing that first round because it may just be the one that starts the ball rolling towards lower census numbers.
All despots first had to get the guns - they've been, will be, unsuccessful.
Even Hirohito wouldn't attack mainland America, as he was urged, because “There's a gun behind every blade of grass.
All this regime of wanna-be dictators has accomplished, regarding guns, is to see the greatest arming-up of America in the shortest space of time - more guns/ammo sales ever - and more people ,including youth, who have never thought of having guns, have taken trainging and bought guns.
But the regime may do something even we, in our wildest guesstimates, couldn't fathom. Remember the despots motto: "He who controls the food, controls the people." (Trucks stop running - by the second say, the shelves are empty...gas stations are dry, etc. We are living in the most dangerous time for our country -
If we win, if we get the country back on track, - and a lot of folk that have been sleepwalking now have their eyes open - the current crop of ‘enemies domestic’ may go down but if we aren't vigilant - always - new ones will arise.
Freedom must be earned...over and over