NC Lawmaker: Lincoln Was 'Same Sort of Tyrant' as Hitler

Rep. Larry Pittman lashed out after failure to restore gay marriage ban
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 14, 2017 2:52 AM CDT
NC Lawmaker Compares Lincoln to Hitler
Daniel Chester French's full-size maquette for the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC, is on display at the exhibition "Lincoln and New York," celebrating the bicentennial of Lincoln's birthday at the New-York Historical Society, New York, on Oct. 6, 2009.   (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

A Republican lawmaker in North Carolina is taking a lot of flak for comparing the first Republican president to Adolf Hitler. State Rep. Larry Pittman of Cabarrus likened Abraham Lincoln to Hitler on Wednesday after a commenter on Facebook criticized a bill he'd introduced to ignore federal rulings and restore the state's ban on same-sex marriage, the Charlotte Observer reports. After being told that the Supreme Court had ruled on the issue and he should just "get over it," Pittman said: "If Hitler had won, should the world just get over it? Lincoln was the same sort if [sic] tyrant, and personally responsible for the deaths of over 800,000 Americans in a war that was unnecessary and unconstitutional."

State Democratic Party Chairman Wayne Goodwin called for GOP leaders to apologize for the comments, saying Pittman and his "ultra-conservative" allies in the state assembly "have no sense of decency, no sense of shame, and no sense of historical fact." The Facebook conversation came after House Speaker Tim Moore, a fellow Republican, killed Pittman's bill, saying there are "strong constitutional concerns with this legislation given that the US Supreme Court has firmly ruled on the issue," NBC News reports. Pittman, a Presbyterian pastor, hasn't responded to requests to clarify his remarks, including one from another Facebook commenter who asked why he thought the Civil War was unnecessary, reports the News & Observer. (Read more Abraham Lincoln stories.)

We use cookies. By Clicking "OK" or any content on this site, you agree to allow cookies to be placed. Read more in our privacy policy.
Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X