“... macho vigilantism and even insurrection.”
The money quote. Insurrection is what they REALLY fear. As long as we common peasants have weapons, they know they can never totally control us. These bastards at the NY Times are modern day Bolsheviks, the members of the proletariat who want to crush anyone who disagrees with there communist ideology. When the time comes, they know they will be sent to the guillotine.
"Almost" 100% on. See above revision.
In the very long comment thread at NYT two days ago, I used insurrection as an answer to a poster who posed the "why would anyone own...." question.
Insurrection is a defined right, in fact it is a duty under certain circumstances, per the Declaration of Independence, and as such it is a retained Ninth Amendment right.
While the "Miller" decision was essentially incomplete because nobody from Miller's side showed-up to make their arguments, the decision implied that "weapons of war" are those most protected by the Second Amendment.