Ben Carson defends linking gun control to the Holocaust

"The likelihood of Hitler being able to accomplish his goals would have been greatly diminished if the people had been armed," he told CNN on Thursday.

An anti-Semitism monitoring group says linking US gun control to the Holocaust is "historically inaccurate".

Mr Carson is polling second in the Republican race behind Donald Trump.

On Friday, Mr Carson reiterated his views about gun control.

"Basically, what I said is when tyranny occurs traditionally around the world, they try to disarm the people first," Mr Carson told the National Press Club in Washington.