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And if they don't have access to guns, they import them, just as the IRA did (much easier now in the era of sophisticated drug trafficking networks). A legal right to guns seems helpful, but not necessary.
Do you think that it would be feasible to illegally import guns to the extent that people have them in the US today? Wouldn't the FBI and other agencies be up to doing something about that?
No, but I don't think you'd need as many guns as the US population has now.
A poorly armed but motivated and organized militia can bring a government to the brink. If Northern Ireland didn't have the support of the rest of the UK it would have collapsed in the early 70s, and if the US were to enter a similar civil war state you wouldn't have a relatively untouched region with >35x the population supporting one side.
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