DOJ Weighs Firearm Ban for Transgender Americans

The Justice Department has started internal discussions about whether transgender individuals should be barred from owning firearms, according to sources familiar with the matter. These conversations began after the Aug. 27 shooting at a Minneapolis Catholic school, in which a 23-year-old transgender shooter killed two children and wounded close to two dozen others, per the Washington Post. Officials from the DOJ's Office of Legal Counsel and Office of the Attorney General are reportedly exploring if transgender identity could be classified as a mental illness under current firearm regulations, potentially making transgender people ineligible to own guns.

Current federal law only prohibits gun ownership for people legally deemed "mentally defective" or committed to a mental institution. A Justice Department spokesperson confirmed the discussions, with the agency stating it's evaluating options to address violence linked to "specific mental health challenges and substance abuse disorders," though it hasn't yet put forward any specific proposals. President Trump himself seemed to downplay a link between gender ideology and gun violence. "Well, it could, but you know, I do say it's also taking place with people that were not transgender, you know?" Trump told the Daily Caller in answer to a question on whether he thought there was a link between "gender ideology" and shootings.

Trump added that "generally it's people that aren't transgender." Any attempt to tie transgender identity to mental illness would likely spark legal challenges and strong opposition from gun-rights advocates, who see it as unconstitutional and opening up the potential for wider bans. Critics also argue such a policy would be discriminatory. CNN adds that conservative politicians and gun lobbyists typically oppose red-flag laws and other policies that keep guns away from individuals having mental health issues, putting this recent push against transgender individuals at odds with that usual stance. "This precedent being used against trans people could be used against veterans with PTSD," says Harvard instructor and trans activist Alejandra Caraballo. "It's a slippery slope."