[ir.lawnet.fordham.edu]

"Hitler's infamous quote ... is probably a fraud and was likely never uttered." (Vol. 73, Issue 2 Article 11, 2004), according to University of Chicago law professor Bernard E. Harcourt, writing in the Fordham Law Review.

He offers an exhaustive, 28-page history of gun registration laws in Germany, with the surprising bottom line that Hitler was actually easier on gun ownership than his predecessor, the Weimar Republic.

Here's what Harcourt has to say: "Following Germany's defeat in World War I, the Weimar Republic passed very strict gun control laws essentially banning all gun ownership, in an attempt to both stabilize the country and to comply with the Versailles Treaty of 1919."

He goes on to cite William L. Pierce, author of "Gun Control in Germany, 1928-1945":

"German firearms legislation under Hitler, far from banning private ownership, actually facilitated the keeping and bearing of arms by German citizens by eliminating or ameliorating restrictive laws which had been enacted by the government preceding his."

Pierce urges people to compare German gun laws from 1928 and 1938 as proof.