NRA lobbyist wonders if Jewish people in favor of stricter gun control laws forgot the Holocaust
Voters won’t be weighing in on the dueling gun measures – one expanding background checks, the other prohibiting more stringent controls – this Tuesday, but the fight over the two measures, slated for the November ballot, is already in full force.
An audio recording at an event for those opposed to Initiative 594 allegedly catches Judy talking about Nick Hanauer, a Seattle venture capitalist who is behind the Washington Alliance for Gun Responsibility and is backing the initiative.
I-594 would expand background checks on all private gun sales, with some exceptions, such as gifts between family members.
Hanauer wrote an article about income inequity in Politico Magazine, which he mentioned his family is from Germany and was chased out by Hitler.
The NRA lobbyist, Judy, is apparently on the recording saying, “Now he’s funding, he’s put half a million dollars, toward this policy, the same policy that led to his family getting run out of Germany by the Nazis,” Judy said. “You know, it’s staggering to me. … It’s, like, any Jewish people I meet who are anti-gun, I think, ‘Are you serious? Do you not remember what happened?’
You can listen here.
He continues to say the Holocaust happened because Jewish people registered their guns and the Nazis took them. “And now … you come to this country and you support gun control?” he’s reported as saying.
Tonight there is a similar anti I-594 event being held in Vancouver, with NRA lobbyists, who have been largely quiet on the topic, expected to attend. The event is hosted by the Libertarian Party of Clark County.
The Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle called on Judy to resign, saying “It is deeply offensive for anyone to suggest that Jewish supporters of gun violence prevention have “forgotten” the history of our people.”
Adding, “For a representative of the National Rifle Association, or any organization, to repeat the out-of-touch falsehood linking gun violence prevention to Nazi Germany and the Holocaust is not only an ignorant distortion but is exceedingly dangerous.”
Lauren Dake
Lauren Dake covers politics for The Columbian. You can reach her at 360-735-4534 or lauren.dake@columbian.com. Follow her on Twitter .