DOJ Reportedly Considering Firearm Ban For Transgender Individuals

The Justice Department (DOJ) is reportedly considering legislation to ban transgender individuals from buying and owning guns, citing mental illness as a factor, according to the Daily Wire (Right bias).

The Details: Reports from the Daily Wire and CNN (Lean Left) say that DOJ discussions focus on the argument that individuals who identify as transgender experience gender dysphoria, which is classified as a mental disorder in the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). Both outlets reported a senior Justice official said the move would be “to ensure that mentally ill individuals suffering from gender dysphoria are unable to obtain firearms while they are unstable and unwell.”

For Context: On August 27, Robin M. Westman opened fire at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis, Minnesota, killing two children and injuring 21. The incident generated debate about Westman’s alleged transgender identity. According to Household Pulse Survey data from 2024, about 0.95% of US adults identify as transgender—approximately 2.3 million adults.

How the Media Covered It: Daily Wire wrote the decision comes amid a “rise in transgender violence over the past decade, particularly aimed at children,” citing the Covenant School shooting in Nashville. It contrasted the DOJ’s plan with Minnesota Governor Tim Walz’s recent transgender-related legislation, including “establishing Minnesota as a ‘trans refuge.’” CNN wrote, “The vast majority of mass attacks in the US have no connection to transgender people,” and emphasized the view that someone who is transgender is different from someone who experiences a clinical mental illness. It mentioned the DOJ’s move, if implemented, would experience legal challenges, and contextualized the move within other transgender-related actions by the Trump administration, including barring transgender people from serving in the military.

Written by the AllSides staff (of humans). Learn more. Support our mission. Suggest an improvement to this summary.