Doug Mastriano Leans Into 2018 Comments Likening Gun Control to Nazism

Days after the elementary school massacre in Texas, the GOP gubernatorial candidate isn’t shying away from his remarks likening gun laws proposed by Democrats to Nazis taking guns from political opponents and Jews before World War II.

A little more than a week after 19 children and two adults were killed during a mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, Doug Mastriano, the Pennsylvania Republican nominee for governor, is leaning into remarks he made in 2018 comparing gun control efforts in the US to Hitler’s actions in Nazi Germany leading up to the Holocaust.

The remarks resurfaced Tuesday in a story and video posted by news organization the Forward, where Mastriano likens gun laws proposed by Democrats to the Nazis confiscating privately held firearms by political opponents and Jews before World War II.

“It’s appalling to me anytime there’s a shooting, the left will jump on that as a way to advance an agenda to remove our right to bear arms,” Mastriano said. “What other right will they suspend? We saw Lenin do the same thing in Russia. We saw Hitler do the same thing in Germany in the ’30s. Where does it stop? Where do the tyrants stop infringing upon our rights?”

Mastriano’s comments were taken from a 2018 debate during his unsuccessful run for US Congress.

The story’s author, Jacob Kornbluh, posted the video on Twitter, which Mastriano shared, adding, “Historically, this is accurate.”

Not surprisingly, the Pennsylvania chapter of the Gun Owners of America responded favorably to Mastriano’s post, Tweeting  “Spot on. There isn’t a better time than now to warn people of the dangers that lie ahead when gun control is forced down our throats in the name of ‘safety.’”

Mastriano shared that response as well.

It should come as no surprise to see Mastriano, a state senator from Franklin County, doubling down on his radical pro-gun stance.

On his campaign website, the retired Army colonel pledges to transform Pennsylvania into a “Constitutional Carry State” and a “Second Amendment Sanctuary” if elected governor. Following last week’s shooting in Uvalde, he called for increased funding for guidance counselors in schools, training for teachers and staff “to help them identify potential warning signs,” arming teachers with firearms, and equipping schools with metal detectors.

Mastriano also proposed fortifying schools as a way to combat gun violence during the 2018 congressional debate.  

“Whose great idea was it to declare a gun-free zone in schools?,” Mastriano said. “The schools should be fortified and strengthened.”