Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson made several comparisons between gun control and Nazi Germany and received backlash because of the comparisons. Carson finally apologized (somewhat) for making the comments, saying he didn’t mean to “diminish” the Holocaust.
“In recent days I suggested that things might have unfolded in a very different manner in Europe had the Jewish people been armed and better able to defend themselves,” Carson wrote in an op-ed for The Jerusalem Post. “What would have been the impact on Hitler’s war machine if his victims had had more access to guns? It is something that we will never know for sure.”
Carson famously said that if Jewish citizens in Europe had guns, then Hitler’s rise to power would likely have been curtailed. That’s some serious, back-handed victim-blaming.
“What I do know, however, beyond any shadow of a doubt, is that I never intended for my words to diminish the enormity of the tragedy or in any way to cause any pain for Holocaust survivors or their families,” he added.
Nazi and Hitler comparisons are a favorite quip of Republicans. However, it never ends well. One would think that conservatives would have learned by now.
For more on this story, visit Talking Points Memo “Carson: ‘I Never Intended’ Hitler References To Hurt Holocaust Victims”
