North Carolina legislator compares Lincoln to Hitler

This drawing shows Abraham Lincoln taking the oath of office as the 16th president of the United States in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington on March 4, 1861. AP PHOTO (AP)

A North Carolina legislator used his Facebook campaign page to compare President Abraham Lincoln to Adolf Hitler.

Cabarrus County Republican Rep. Larry Pittman posted the comment on Wednesday in response to a torrent of criticism over legislation he and two others sponsored in the General Assembly to restore a state ban on same-sex marriage.

In the post, Pittman said, "And if Hitler had won, should the world just get over it? Lincoln was the same sort of tyrant."

Pittman wrote that Lincoln was "personally responsible for the deaths of 800,000 Americans in a war that was unnecessary and unconstitutional."

The bill co-sponsored by Pittman claims the U.S. Supreme Court overstepped with its 2015 ruling that effectively voided an amendment to North Carolina's constitution forbidding same-sex marriage. Voters approved the amendment in 2012.