I met an old pal from the university today. We discussed this. He said that if an uprising gets big enough to have success, you will get weapons for it anyway. It would feel safer with a thoroughly armed general public, though.
That's true. We'd get or make weapons anyway, and the military would be with us. BUT. Taking weapons for the time being causes domestic problems. Who wants to wait fucking thirty minutes for the cops to show up while some criminal with a knife or a gun is taking all their shit?
Not me, man. I'll shoot him.