I've been to Mexico before, I know exactly how well strict gun control laws work. They disarm the honest and further arm the dishonest. I have never felt more unsafe than going into Durango, Mexico which is more or less Sinaloa Cartel administered as the police were either thoroughly corrupted to the Cartel or constituted gangsters with a badge.
In particular though, nothing sold on the US civilian market is a threat against the state by its existence (I'm pretty ok with the restrictions against machine guns and antipersonnel explosives). Anyone stupid enough to think that their gun collection alone is of any threat to a green light infantry platoon (even with illegal hardware) is delusional. That's not the point. The point is that the gun collection is a reasonable threat to someone who shouldn't be threatening you as a private citizen in an era where the police either can't get to you in time (why the West and particularly AZ have permissive gun laws is because of the lack of law enforcement per capita) or the police are not competent as an institution to help you (Baltimore, Chicago, Detroit).
The best defense is living and being with people who you would not need to think about being shot by or having to shoot. That means no public transportation in your area, no high-density housing in your area, and high property taxes to both support the law enforcement institutions and the state oversight equivalent such that mysteries do get solved in your district (and that those on the bench or take the silk live in your area).
