it's always "the government" or some other thing they're on edge about
It probably doesn't help that there are any number of examples where "the government" basically goes out of its way to BE the exact sort of bogeyman those people were afraid of in the first place.
Sure, you can blame incidents like Waco or Ruby Ridge on high-strung trigger-happy people stockpiling weapons in a way that encourages government investigation, but in both cases (and others as well), the government itself basically made massive mistakes and turned those situations into grade-a clusterfucks that resulted in the loss of innocent lives.
It's like every time you hear a story about how a police sting resulted in cops kicking down the wrong door and getting some old couple killed (or these days, when some Internet piece of shit decides swatting is the best way to fuck with a random stranger, and things spiral out-of-control until someone gets hurt).
One could also argue it's similar in nature to how multiple stories about police harassment or "racist cops" have led a lot of black people (especially in inner city or high crime neighborhoods) to have zero faith in police, and to be actively hostile (thus escalating the situation) whenever they're confronted by police presence, justified or not.
Like it or not, it's a self-reinforcing downward spiral.
Yeah, but has guns ever made one of those situations better?
I mean, have the police ever kicked down a door to a wrong house, seen the owner standing there with a gun in hand and said "Woah, woah, sorry to bother you, sir, clearly we have overstepped our bounds and will now leave you in peace"?
I can't recall a single instance of government malfeasance or overreach where guns helped or would have helped the situation, rather than making it worse. ---
Kill 1 man: You are a murderer. Kill 10 men: You are a monster. Kill 100 men: You are a hero. Kill 10,000 men, you are a conqueror!