A new video commentary released by the NRA references the Holocaust and other instances of persecution to advance the baseless claim that “the government is collecting more and more gun registration data which could be used against gun owners in the form of full confiscation.”

The July 18 commentary was published by NRA News and is part of the gun group's recent efforts to reach a younger, more diverse audience. In the video NRA News commentator Chris Cheng sets up his claim about government-sanctioned gun confiscation by citing recent reports of the persecution of Jewish people in Eastern Ukraine, as well as “what happened to our Jewish friends during World War II” :

CHRIS CHENG: Masked men in Eastern Ukraine recently handed out fliers in front of a synagogue which told Jews to register with pro-Russian militants. I don't even need to go into detail about world history and what happened to our Jewish friends during World War II. So here's why government registration of a protected right is a bad thing.

He then listed laws that protect individuals from being discriminated on the basis of “religion, race, gender, pregnancy, age, and sexual orientation,” before suggesting, “Perhaps we should include gun ownership as a protected class. That way the government could not discriminate against us by passing laws which restrict our Second Amendment rights.”

According to Cheng, a “protected class” for gun owners is necessary because “the government is collecting more and more gun registration data which could be used against gun owners in the form of full confiscation.” However federal law prohibits the creation of a national gun registry. In fact, background check legislation in the U.S. Senate that the NRA played an instrumental role in defeating would have strengthened the penalty for the creation of a gun registry. According to the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, “Six states and the District of Columbia require registration of some or all firearms.”

In recent months NRA News commentators have played semantic games to attack the media for covering mass shootings and made claims that laws regulating firearm ownership are “equally as unconstitutional” as Jim Crow laws.

The NRA frequently uses the Holocaust to fearmonger about gun rights, and has on three recent occasions been rebuked by civil rights group Anti-Defamation League for misappropriating the history of the Holocaust.