How would the public being armed stop the government doing anything?

One problem gun-control advocates have is that guns are not useful for anything except killing things. You don't have to have a gun to kill someone, but I think the gun helps.
Gun crime is a lot lower in Europe than the States precisely because there are less guns and they are less freely available, the simple fact being that most people cannot be trusted to own and operate a firearm responsibly.

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In your face, space coyote!