Yes they did. Where there were more guns than people there were far fewer restrictions. Aside from Sweden, the US was by far the freest western country during Covid, and one of the only that those of us who are unvaccinated continued to travel (including by air internationally), and live our lives. Several major woke banks are headquartered in NC - no vaccine mandates. In rural NC the schools opened in August 2020 along with my kids’ urban private school. The restrictions were far more oppressive in parts of the US where gun ownership is much lower, but homicides by guns much higher.

For all the masks shootings in the news they failed to mention half a dozen incidents across just NC where homeowners defended their homes against intruders in just the last month.

No country has ever tried to invade the US.

Guns send a message that did hold Covid insanity at bay, but more than that, if people are going to scream about defunding the police then I’m funding personal ownership of my own firearms to protect my family - hapless victim in waiting isn’t my personality type.