Correction, if I may. They have set themselves against an armed people.
An armed populace, perhaps. But an armed people? Part of the preparation for physically disarming us has been a long but steady process of intellectual disarmament, which included convincing us that we were not a "nation" but merely an ideology masquerading as a nation-state - by which line of reasoning, someone from Asia or Africa could be "a better American" than someone who can trace his roots back to Jamestown or Pymouth Plantation.
In other words, we were convinced that an American was simply someone agreeing to whatever it is that constitutes the "American ideology" - because we are a "nation dedicated to a proposition". Once you accept this switch, it becomes impossible to distinguish between "American" as a distinct ethnic/national identity, and "American" as simply any featherless biped who happens to live within the territory of the USA, regardless of how he got here or what his legal status is.
Needless to say, once a sense of nationhood is sufficiently diluted, stripping away that nation's birthrights - including gun rights - becomes markedly easier. It will be packaged as a part of the "war on terrorism", but it'll happen, eventually.
Or whatever "crisis" we happen to be embroiled in at the time will suffice as the "cause".
I know, and most on this site know what patriotism really means and what it really means to be an American.
"It only takes a few real men to change things" my great Uncle said, circa 1980, as he gave me his old Winchester octagon barrel lever action repeater and told me what it was to be used for. In his words, "it aint good fur nuthin else".
And you're right, it'll happen eventually.
EBUCK