Over at the Volokh Conspiracy, they linked to an article examining the role of gun control laws in Nazi Germany. From a historical perspective, it’s interesting to note what the gun control laws were. To take the next step, which this article takes, and impugn the gun control laws as a primary enabler of the pogroms against the Jews and the other “subject races” is taking the slippery slope argument a bit too far. The paper presents a timeline of gun control laws with no historical context or acknowledgment. In other words, because A then B then C then D happened doesn’t mean that A caused B caused C down the line or even that A led to B led to C etc.

It also gives some magical power to government gun registration records. Trust me, if we ever go through something like the rise of a Nazi-like party (or any totalitarian regime), those NRA membership records, Wal Mart’s database of purchase history, and the list of subscribers to Guns and Ammo would be just as useful to the new regime. And, they’d likely be more up to date.

There’s definitely a risk and a tradeoff in implementing gun control legislation. I’m no lawyer, but I can get that. The bizarre notion to me is that there’s some sort of absolute protection to owning a firearm of any type.