Sure, but the degree of the effect matters a lot when the other position is "of course they're countries X and Y are turning into tyrannies—people don't own eno

Sure, but the degree of the effect matters a lot when the other position is "of course they're countries X and Y are turning into tyrannies—people don't own enough guns to stop it"—as if that's a major, or even decisive, factor. However, what I can tell, they're surely not that important, and any effect they do have is weak enough that even small effects that make them a liability to liberal democracy—which effects I believe are in evidence, given the clear role they've played as a tool for enforcing popular but illiberal positions—could easily nullify the benefits.