Alaska lawmaker cites Holocaust deaths to oppose gun control [View all]

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — An Alaska Republican and most senior member of the U.S. House argued against gun control by wondering how many Jewish people "were put in the ovens" because they were not armed.

U.S. Rep. Don Young, who has a history of off-the-cuff remarks that can draw criticism, made the comments at a meeting last week in the state capital of Juneau when responding to a question about what the federal government and cities can do to stop school shootings.

"How many millions of people were shot and killed because they were unarmed?" Young, 84, said at a meeting of the Alaska Municipal League, a lobbying group for local communities. "Fifty million in Russia because their citizens weren't armed. How many Jews were put into the ovens because they were unarmed?"

The comments were "taken entirely out of context," Young spokeswoman Murphy McCollough said in an email to The Associated Press on Wednesday.

Read more: http://www.valleymorningstar.com/news/elections/alaska-lawmaker-cites-holocaust-deaths-to-oppose-gun-control/article_3e4ac140-bf35-539b-ad62-3a494b42088a.html