Wasn't Snowden a corporate security contractor?

Read the post the parent was replying to.
They're not advocating annoying flashlights in theaters, they're pointing out that most people would find that annoying. Drawing a parallel to cellphone backlights.

Umm... how is saying we're going to take a country's statements seriously, provocative?

Why would you doubt that?
It's a direct quote from the GSA request for bids.

And the minimum barrel length mostly just applies to normal folk. Law enforcement can get stuff that's restricted for most folk, or at least, we need to get the right special permits for. If it requires custom work, what do they care? It's government money.
(may not be custom, I don't know if there are standard 14" law-enforcement barrels, there may be)

I'm sure an 18.5" barrel just would not be tacti-cool enough for our IRS lads, what with rescuing hostages, taking down cartels, you know, all that IRS action-hero stuff they do.

It gets more interesting than that: way bigger weapons than muskets.
At the time, there were privately-held cannon & warships.
Look up what "privateers" were.

If you can afford it, you should be able to get a permit for your own fully-armed PT boat (or whatever the current equivalent is). Guard the dock with some artillery pieces and you're all set.

I'm can't remember the last time the US rolled tanks against it's own citizens...
Granted, the occasional SWAT team or quarantined "free speech zone", but there's no US "great firewall".

US is definitely NOT perfect, but I think you're exaggerating a bit.

Set a bounty low enough it's not worth breeding snakes to collect it.
But it's enough to cover your ammo / lunch / beer costs for a day in the swamp shooting.

If your water supply is from a house well, then if your electricity goes out (ice on lines or sliding vehicle takes out pole), you will have no running water. There's still folks with wells rather than city water - especially the folks who may need a few days with chainsaws to clear their driveway after a storm.

Everyday life can trigger psychotic episodes in mentally ill people.
So can odd noises, squirrels, religion and the voices that only they hear.

Ask someone who's worked in a USA machine-shop: it's called a thousandth (the "of an inch" part is implied).
Machinists are not programmers, so beyond about 1/64" they switch to thousandths.
Below that, tenths (ten-thousandths of an inch).
Below that, millionths.

You have a bizarre notion of "voluntary"

The volume-control for those very, very big speakers goes to 11.