Ben Carson has come in for criticism for suggesting that without gun control in Nazi Germany the Jewish minority could have successfully resisted the Holocaust. To say the least, Carson's analysis requires many qualifications and a hefty dose of context. The media is framing this a "gaff" - a verbal slip from an unexperienced candidate. But the reality is that Carson is not deviating that far from right-wing orthodoxies. Within this ecosystem it has long been accepted that Switzerland escaped Nazi occupation due to its armed citizenry. Much of the research to support that view comes from Stephen Halbrook, and the NRA has promoted this research.
The reality is though that the United States sees about 30,000 deaths a year from guns. That's the equivalent of three Srebrenica massacres a year. Rather than playing hypotheticals with historical moments, the United States should try and deal with the massacre taking place every year due to its gun culture.