Amid reports that the Justice Department is considering a proposal to bar transgender people from owning firearms, the National Rifle Association (NRA) said Friday it will oppose any blanket rule that restricts Second Amendment rights.
CNN and other outlets reported that DOJ officials are exploring whether transgender people could be declared mentally ill under federal rulemaking authority, which would then disqualify them from possessing firearms.
NRA Statement
“The NRA supports the Second Amendment rights of all law-abiding Americans to purchase, possess and use firearms,” the group posted on social media. “NRA does not, and will not, support any policy proposals that implement sweeping gun bans that arbitrarily strip law-abiding citizens of their Second Amendment rights without due process.”
The post was captioned: “The Second Amendment isn’t up for debate.” The organization confirmed it was commenting on DOJ’s internal discussions.
Early Reaction
Although discussions are still in a preliminary stage, civil rights organizations and gun advocacy groups quickly raised objections, warning that any such measure would be unconstitutional and overly broad. Critics also noted there is no evidence that transgender people are more likely to commit mass shootings, while available data shows transgender individuals are more often the victims of violent crime.
Gun rights groups and many Republican lawmakers have historically drawn a hard line against restrictions that remove firearms from people on the basis of mental health categories, including red flag laws.
The NRA has long resisted sweeping gun restrictions. After the 2017 Las Vegas mass shooting, which killed 58 people, the group initially signaled openness to regulating bump stocks but later opposed those measures. The Supreme Court eventually struck down the federal ban.
Author’s Opinion
Using gender identity as a category for restricting constitutional rights would set a precedent that goes far beyond firearms. If the government can label an entire group of people as mentally unfit based solely on identity, the door opens to sweeping away rights from others under equally arbitrary reasoning. This is less about safety and more about political posturing — and it risks eroding the very due process protections the Constitution guarantees.
Featured image credit: mr.smashy via Flickr
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