I don't see our government shooting anyone except criminals.
Then you aren't looking hard enough. Remember that you're not a "criminal" until
after you are tried and convicted in a court of law. And, in the US, there is no mechanism for summary execution without due process.
Also, no government can rule without the consent of the people.
Well that's just patently false. I'm not saying that the US is one of those governments, but they clearly exist.
Do you really think that our military could defeat 300 million armed citizens? If Americans ever said enough is enough, no force on earth could stop them.
While there is almost 1 gun per person in America, not everyone is armed. Only about 25% of Americans have a gun, and many of them are probably in the military and law enforcement professions that would be on the antagonistic side, here.
Breaking it down into realistic numbers, we're talking about 1.5 million military and law enforcement personnel versus about 80 million armed civilians.
And, of course, that's assuming that every single one of them raise up in armed rebellion.
So the question is, can a single military or police officer, with modern gear and equipment, with tanks and fighter jets and nukes, take out 50 untrained armed civilians armed with hunting rifles and purse guns?
I think so.