In the wake of last week’s deadly shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis—a crime that was committed by a 23-year-old man who identified as a woman—the Trump administration is reportedly mulling whether or not to ban transgender Americans from purchasing firearms. The idea, it seems, would be to classify such individuals as mentally ill and label them as a danger to themselves or others.
The news of a possible gun ban began popping Thursday on various conservative media outlets. Anonymous sources within the Department of Justice (DOJ) began laying the groundwork for what is being described as a “federal ban of transgendered individuals from owning firearms.”
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Another DOJ source told one outlet, “Individuals within the DOJ are reviewing ways to ensure that mentally ill individuals suffering from gender dysphoria are unable to obtain firearms while they are unstable and unwell.” Also:
The DOJ’s discussions center on the fact that those who identify as transgender suffer from gender dysphoria, a mental disorder, the DOJ source familiar with the conversations shared with The Daily Wire. Gender dysphoria describes the sense of unease that a man or woman may feel if he or she thinks that their biological sex is mismatched with their so-called gender identity.
One report stated the idea for the gun ban originated in the DOJ’s Office of Legal Counsel, which provides legal guidance to Attorney General Pam Bondi, in the days following the tragedy in Minneapolis.
The legal question at play here focuses on whether transgender individuals suffering from gender dysphoria can be considered mentally ill and if that mental illness necessitates that they be denied gun ownership. Prior to 2013, those with gender dysphoria were given diagnoses like “gender identity disorder” or “transsexualism,” which were classified as mental illnesses. As of 2025, the American Psychiatric Association considers transgenderism to be a diagnosis, not a mental illness.
Emotions were understandably running high after the Annunciation massacre, leading some influential voices like Charlie Kirk to opine that those citizens who take measures to change their sex are “too crazy to own a firearm.”
If you are crazy enough to want to hormonally and surgically “change your sex,” you have a mental disorder, and you are too crazy to own a firearm.
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) August 27, 2025
The case is being made by some that violent crime committed by transgender people seems to be on the rise, particularly when it comes to school shootings in recent years.
If you look at WaPo’s school shooting database and remove accidental discharges, gang violence, police shootings, etc., there have been four mass school shootings since 2023. Two of the perpetrators were transgender. 50%.
— Amber Duke (@ambermarieduke) August 27, 2025
Federally licensed firearms dealers are required by 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(4) to run a background check on potential buyers. Buyers who have a formal legal finding that they are a danger to themselves or others due to their mental illness will not be allowed to go forward with the purchase. That does not include individuals who have voluntarily sought inpatient psychiatric treatment (unless there’s a court order involved).
So far, it’s unclear what measures the Trump administration is considering when it comes to transgender citizens owning guns. A DOJ spokesman commented, “Under Attorney General Bondi’s leadership, this Department of Justice is actively considering a range of options to prevent mentally unstable individuals from committing acts of violence, especially at schools.”
This whole thing may just be a trial balloon being floated to gauge public reaction; if it’s a serious policy consideration being put forward, it’s likely that Second Amendment fans and scholars will have a lot to say.
Watch this space.
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