"- they, almost to a man, and certainly the NRA would, say that the 2/A requires them to be armed in order to subdue any government that gets too big for its boots."

Yep... that is a common rationalization that many of them use. We can debate all day what goes on in their heads to bring them to such a stupid position... or why they employ the "slippery slope" fallacy to defend their position. ("If we allow 'X', why, 'Y' & 'Z' will surely follow!") But whatever their warped, emotional rationalization and how well we sane ones see thru the obfuscation, it still does nothing to alter the pragmatic, legal obstacles we have to actually making changes!
My mother made moderately horrible meatloaf, and we gradually saw WHY her meatloaf was flawed, but she had her notion of 'how one goes about doing it', and she was in charge. My brother & I could not figure out how to mount an insurrection against her... so we ate flawed meatloaf.

Inadequate metaphor? *shrug*