Option #2: only the police have guns, and we’re assuming that somehow, magically, the police would be good, benevolent, never desire to dominate the unarmed population, and no guns would slip into the hands of the crazies.

My favourite James Madison quote applies: “If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself.”