The US Department of Justice is reportedly developing a proposal that would block people who are transgender from owning guns.
Us broadcaster CNN has made the claim citing multiple unnamed sources who describe the plan as being in its “preliminary” stages.
The move comes in the wake of a shooting at a Catholic church in Minnesota last week where two children were killed and 17 others were injured. The suspect in the shooting was transgender, according to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
The claims have also been published in the New York Post, who also reported sources confirming the plan.
A spokesperson for the Department of Justice (DOJ) said they are always evaluating their options on gun control.
“The DOJ is actively evaluating options to prevent the pattern of violence we have seen from individuals with specific mental health challenges and substance abuse disorders. No specific criminal justice proposals have been advanced at this time,” a Justice Department spokesperson said when asked about the media reports.
A move to ban a specific segment of society from owning guns would likely put many gun ownership groups offside with the Trump administration. Gun owners have traditionally been strong supporters of the Republican party.
In the recent Minnesota the perpetrator was 23-year-old Robin Westman, who had previously attended the church and its associated school.
In the wake of the incident there was an outburst of online discussion about the relevance of Westman’s gender history in relation to the horrific crime, and a wave of social media posts discussing the prevalence of transgender people as mass shooters.
Crime experts however have noted that based on what has been seen of journals written by Westman, they appear to have developed an obsessive interest in mass shootings and the internet subculture that surrounds them.
Michael Jensen, research director at the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism, told USA Today that the data does not support the proposition that transgender people are ore likely to become the perpetrators of mass shootings.
“I’m aware of no evidence to support the claim that transgender people are disproportionately responsible for mass violence events in the U.S., including shootings in schools,” Jensen said. “In fact, the data suggests quite the opposite.”
In his research Jensen looked at over 1,000 mass shooting incidents that have occurred since 2023.
“You can count on less than one hand how many of those were perpetrated by a transgender individual,” Jensen said.
Do you need some support?
QLife: 1800 184 527 / qlife.org.au (Webchat 3pm – midnight)
QLife are a counselling and referral service for LGBTQIA+ people.
DISCHARGED: info@discharged.org.au / discharged.org.au
Discharged is a trans-led support service with peer support groups for trans and gender diverse folks.
Lifeline: 13 11 14 / lifeline.org.au
Beyondblue: 1300 22 4636 / www.beyondblue.org.au
