Orwell and Gun Control

This National Review cover (of last week's "Gun Issue") caught my eye at the newsstand. Re: that Orwell quote....

I understand where 2015 Republicans were coming from with this. But I don't understand how this fits into 2018.

We're in a situation where, for the first time, totalitarianism is an actual immediate concern. And the vast majority of the people with the guns have sided with the would-be tyrant, and are much more likely to direct their weapons toward democratic (small "d") dissenters than toward the tyranny.

I understand people don't try very hard to be consistent in their thinking. We're able to hold contradictory beliefs and opinions with ease, scarcely ever noticing. It's a feature, not a bug; if each time we changed an opinion, it involved a major unraveling and reevaluation of our entire thought systems, it'd be impossible to get on with our lives.

But still.