The Department of Justice is reportedly considering a proposal to restrict transgender Americans from possessing firearms, marking a dramatic reversal of the Trump administration’s pledges to preserve Second Amendment rights while escalating his attacks against trans Americans.
The proposal, according to CNN, comes in the wake of a mass shooting at a Minneapolis Catholic church allegedly committed by a 23-year-old trans woman, which has fueled conspiracy theories and right-wing outrage baselessly alleging trans people are predisposed to commit violence.
Since taking office, President Donald Trump has issued a series of directives targeting trans Americans, including an executive order that erases federal recognition of trans people and others measures that restrict gender-affirming healthcare and ban trans athletes from competing in women’s sports.
The Department of Defense has also forced out thousands of trans service members from all branches of the U.S. military.
Trans people are not linked to higher rates of violence, and the overwhelming majority of mass attacks are committed by cisgender men. Trans people are also more than four times likely to be victims of violent crimes, including rape and sexual assault.
Yet Trump’s allies and right-wing media figures who have spent years seeking to remove trans people from public life have pounced on the Minnesota tragedy to build on political momentum targeting LGBT+ Americans.
Restricting trans people from firearms is designed “to ensure that mentally ill individuals suffering from gender dysphoria are unable to obtain firearms while they are unstable and unwell,” a Justice Department official told CNN.
Under federal law, a judge must determine whether a person is mentally “defective” before they can be stripped of their right to own firearms.
This is a developing story
