Odd Bedfellows: LGBTQ Groups, Pro-Gun Orgs Denounce Gun Ban 

Pro-LGBTQ groups and Second Amendment advocates seem to have formed a surprising alliance, as both last week publicly condemned a potential gun ban proposed by the Department of Justice.  

Their statements came in response to multiple reports that the DOJ is “reviewing ways to ensure that mentally ill individuals suffering from gender dysphoria are unable to obtain firearms while they are unstable and unwell.”  

Those reports painted the DOJ’s discussions as a response to the August shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis. That shooting, allegedly committed by a “transgender” person, left 2 children dead and 17 children and adults wounded. 

But LGBTQ groups denounced any potential ban as infringing on the rights of transgender individuals.? 

LGBTQ Nation, which describes itself as “the world’s most-followed LGBTQ news source,” posted on X Thursday, “Attorney General Pam Bondi is all-in on Trump’s escalating assault on trans people.” Its post linked to an article titled “DOJ plans to label trans Americans as ‘mentally defective’ to take away their guns.” 

A spokesperson for GLAAD, another LGBTQ advocacy group, called the potential gun ban an attempt to use the transgender community as a scapegoat for recent shootings. 

“Instead of actual solutions, the administration is again choosing to scapegoat and target a small and vulnerable population,” the spokesperson told CNN. 

LGBTQ groups weren’t alone in decrying attempts to keep guns out of the hands of those suffering from gender dysphoria. 

Following the report, the National Rifle Association released a statement saying, “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.” 

Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms Chairman Alan Gottlieb said in a statement, “Prohibiting whole groups of people from owning and using firearms because a sick individual misused a gun to harm and kill children is as reprehensible as restricting the rights of all law-abiding citizens because some people have committed crimes.” 

Gun Owners of America posted on X, “GOA opposes any & all gun bans. Full stop.” 

That was reposted by the campaign account of Thomas Massie, R-Ky., who said, “I oppose all gun bans as well.” 

The Trump administration rejected attempts to frame its discussions as specifically targeting transgender individuals, describing them instead as an attempt to keep guns away from those struggling from mental disorders. 

A DOJ spokesperson told FOX News, “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.” 

Currently, federal law prohibits those with certain mental illnesses from owning firearms.

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