GOP Rep. Don Young: ‘How Many Jews Were Put Into the Ovens Because They Were Unarmed?’

Rep. Don Young’s (R-AK) office on Wednesday claimed that his recent comments suggesting the atrocities of the Holocaust could have been prevented if Jewish people were armed had been “taken entirely out of context.” The statement read that Young was referencing “when Hitler confiscated firearms from Jewish Germans, those communities were less able to defend themselves. He was not implying that an armed Jewish population would have been able to prevent the horrors of the Holocaust, but his intended message is that disarming citizens can have detrimental consequences.” This defense came after Young asked “How many millions of people were shot and killed because they were unarmed? … How many Jews were put into the ovens because they were unarmed?” to the Alaska Municipal League in Juneau last week. The remarks prompted backlash from anti-hate groups and other member of Congress.