From The Chicago Sun-Times… Gun-rights group’s Holocaust analogy appallingly offensiveThis may rack up as one of the biggest stretches in logic of all times.
As well as one of the most offensive.
A Downstate gun-rights group this month compared an effort to publish the names of gun owners in Illinois with the tyrannical and fateful Nazi decision during World War II to force Jews to wear a gold Star of David, identifying them by their religion.
The analogy by the gun-rights group was prompted by a recent ruling by Attorney General Lisa Madigan that the names of residents with Firearm Owner ID cards must be made public.
“The slippery slope for the Jews in Germany began first with their identification, then disarmament then annihilation,” the group, Guns Save Life, wrote. “Under Madigan’s plan, Illinois gun owners will be identified publicly and will stand on the precipice of their own slippery slope towards ends unknown.”
Guns Save Life printed a picture of an Israeli Jewish star with the word “Armed” above it. Over the gold Star of David, it reads “Disarmed.”
The group’s twisted logic lays bare a profound disregard for historical truth. It was not the identification of Jews, or the loss of their firearms, that led to their deaths in the gas chambers. It was a maniacal government, supported by powerful cultural forces, that led to mass Jewish deaths.
To liken that march toward death to the simple naming of people who applied for a government ID card in Illinois is absurd.
There are legitimate arguments against releasing the names of gun owners, arguments that have been articulated by thoughtful gun-rights advocates.
But nobody has dared to resort to this kind of craven and offensive twisting of history — until now.
