I'd be comfortable with a law MANDATING every citizen to be armed with an "AK, AR, or equivalent... + as many hand guns, shotguns, 40mm grenade launchers as needed to make them feel they have a chance against oppressive government, as necessary". As a deterrent, the cumulative armament of the populace needs to be adequate to be considered as "formidable" by any oppressive government... and that includes OUR OWN!!
I would love to get my hands on one of these. A German company used a futuristic laser weapon to cut through a half-inch thick steel girder from 2/3 of a mile away. But donât try running away just yet: Dusseldorf-based Rheinmetall Group also reported that its new 50kW high-energy weapon technology can successfully detect and engage targets. Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2013/01/14/germans-build-successfully-test-laser-weapon/#ixzz2IFlN3JGH
I'm assuming your "madated law" would exclude the criminally insane.:eek: On a more serious note, a the general population cannot have a enough weponary to be considered "formidable" against an oppressive goverment. Best we can do is arm ourselves to a point of reasonable self defence against criminals, and hope the government doesn't go off the rails. Should the government want to put a boot on our throats there's not much we could really do about it other than some token resistance which would be met with overwhelming firepower the likes of which most have not seen, nor would want to see.
Heavy particle beams are nothing new, they've just finally made their way into civilian sectors. Check out magnetic rail guns. Edit, by the time we hear about it, they have already made it and are working on upgrades or something on better http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Energy_Liquid_Laser_Area_Defense_System
This argument keeps being put forward, but don't forget the USSR fell and fractured into pieces. The same could happen here under your scenario, especially when the collateral damage reports of American families being wiped out by their countrymen start coming in. A guerilla war would result, which the US military has had a poor track record of contending with. Stalin was successful in doing this for awhile by disarming the public, then murdering millions.
No one is seriously suggesting a militia army would fight pitched battles against federal forces. We have seen time and time again however that occupiers face a difficult task in pacifying determined resistance from a well-armed population. That is one reason patioritc citizens should be buying as many assault weapons and ammo as possible now. If you don't want to use it, you can at least give them to someone who will, in case it becomes necessary. Plus, the more weapons out there, the more difficult it will be to confiscate them. We have to draw a bright line in the sand that gun confiscation wil not be accepted and will be met with force.
I've been hoping when THAT "push comes to shove" our military would say, "this is wrong... using armed force against our own citizens just because some power-hungry megalomaniac said to do it".... and refuse to comply. (What would Hitler and Himler have done had their military personnel refused to comply with and even fought against their leaders.. because it was WRONG... with the "final solution"?)
German officers tried to blow him up, but were unsuccessful. The great Erwin Rommel commited suicide, if you recall.