Armed people made problems for the Pingertons you mentioned. Armed people were not attacked by the police for protesting the quarantine. Armed Black Panthers scared the California government into making new prohibitions in the 60s. Armed protesters stopped the cops in the Bundy Ranch standoff.
Yes, the government responded with force to the Malheur protest and ambushed a man on his way to peace talks. The government used its legal system to entrap and Randy Weaver. The Waco siege was a publicity stunt that went sideways. It's not a guarantee of success, but it is a tool we need.
War is the health of the State. The MIC is corporations with charters and subsidies from the State that serve the State as it exercises its most essential function besides internal enforcement.
Guns in the hands of citizens sometimes work to their advantage and sometimes they just provide an excuse for the police to shoot them dead (they had a gun!).
If you really want to "defend yourself" you need one of these!
https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/weapons/a22254/russia-illegal-laser-weapons/
Guns are just a tool in the Independence and resistance toolkit. I don't mean to imply they're the be-all and end-all, but neither should they be disregarded, and gun prohibition for the subjects is always a definite signal the State sees itself as supreme ruler.