Ben Carson Doubles Down on Holocaust Gun Control Remark
Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson reiterate his belief that the Holocaust might have been prevented if more Jews had owned guns.
Brushing away criticism from historians, Jewish groups and anti-Semitism watchdogs, Carson insisted in an appearance on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” that strict gun control laid the groundwork for the Nazi genocide.
“It’s not hyperbole at all,” the retired neurosurgeon said in the show aired nationwide on Sunday. “Whether it’s on our doorstep or whether it’s 50 years away, it’s still a concern, and it’s something we must defend against.”
Carson also suggested the history of the Nazis’ rise to power could repeat in the U.S. if access to guns were to be limited.
Carson, who has risen sharply in the polls, has made a number of controversial remarks regarding guns recently, which appear to have struck a positive chord with ultra-conservative Tea Party supporters.
Historians say Jews would not have been able to prevent the Nazis’ genocide regardless of their levels of gun ownership and the Anti-Defamation League has branded the claim as an anti-Semitic canard.
A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you move on, I wanted to ask you to support the Forward’s award-winning journalism during our High Holiday Monthly Donor Drive.
If you’ve turned to the Forward in the past 12 months to better understand the world around you, we hope you will support us with a gift now. Your support has a direct impact, giving us the resources we need to report from Israel and around the U.S., across college campuses, and wherever there is news of importance to American Jews.
Make a monthly or one-time gift and support Jewish journalism throughout 5785. The first six months of your monthly gift will be matched for twice the investment in independent Jewish journalism.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO