But I'm not entirely sure. I haven't given it a whole lot of thought. If machine guns are illegal, then the government would have less trouble subjugating people who only have handguns. But that's pretty weak. I'd rather have a handgun for defense anyway.
Machine guns are also very inaccurate, since there so hard to control.
By regulations I mean more strenuous licensing and training required to use them. I don't think there as valuable for personal self-defense, which more of my argument rests on. But when they know people don't usually have a gun, they will feel less threatened. In general, though, there's a large disincentive to try to mess with someone who is armed as well. If you just start going violent, anyone else who is armed will simply shoot you.