We have seen what's happening in Iran time and again, in Belarus, in Myanmar etc... if the common people are not armed, these dictators can easily crush any uprising. There is only 1 solution, common people must be armed and have some basic military training to avoid being killed by these dictators. There is NO OTHER WAY. Even in a democratic state, people must be allowed to own guns so that they can fight back. Following is my attempt to preempt the common anti-gun arguments: - Mass shootings will become more common: Despite a ban on guns, bad guys will eventually get guns easily and gun down common folks, this just happened in Australia. Banning guns does not prevent bad people from acquiring guns and killing people - Common people cannot fight the military might of their country: We have seen countless times where ragtag militia have defeated armies. Armed populace means more chance of people from the military to defect. Most people in military would definitely want to avoid killing their own people, and if the other side is armed, they would think twice before killing, and it's easier to defect. An armed populace can overcome the military as it's not a conventional residential fight where the military can utilize it's full force. Therefore, there is only 1 solution to this... general populace must have the right to possess arms to avoid what happened to my dear Iranian revolutionaries in recent weeks. I know it's easier said than done, but it must be done. I am willing to listen to more counter arguments on why this position could be wrong...