They may be “converted” after a few neighbors are murdered by bandits. And that still leaves the widows etc. unarmed.
If the bandits kill the husbands, what makes you think they’ll bother to leave the widows or even the kids alive?
I live in the “boonies”-which means most-if not all-my neighbors are already quite well armed. At least the ones that matter.
As for the “converts”-well, tough! They brought it ALL on themselves is exactly how I see it and nobody will ever change my mind. All they’ll get from me is “deal with it the best you can.”