The National Rifle Association disagrees with President Donald Trump's Department of Justice in its push to prohibit gender-confused individuals from owning guns following the shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota, last week, the Washington Examiner reported. The gun rights group made it clear that it objects to any limits on the Second Amendment without exception.
The NRA has been supportive of Trump and his agenda, but it is drawing a line in the sand as the DOJ seeks to disarm disturbed individuals like the cross-dressing man who shot schoolchildren during Mass on Aug. 27. "“The NRA supports the Second Amendment rights of all law-abiding Americans to purchase, possess, and use firearms," the NRA said in a post to X, formerly Twitter, on Friday.
"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 Second Amendment isn’t up for debate," the organization concluded.
The Second Amendment isn’t up for debate. pic.twitter.com/AQwouV4VDd
— NRA (@NRA) September 5, 2025
The Trump administration is considering restricting gun ownership for transgender individuals "to ensure that mentally ill individuals suffering from gender dysphoria are unable to obtain firearms while they are unstable and unwell," one official told the press. The question comes on the heels of a fifth case of a transgender or nonbinary individual committing mass violence against schoolchildren in as many years.
This has opened the door to discussion about taking guns from people who are, by definition, mentally disturbed. "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," a spokesperson for the Justice Department told the Washington Examiner.
However, Second Amendment advocacy groups are objecting to this as they believe that any excuse to ban guns could eventually result in all Americans losing their rights. Another gun-rights group, Gun Owners of America, is similarly committed to protecting gun rights for everyone, regardless of their mental health status or gender confusion.
"GOA opposes any & all gun bans. Full stop," the group posted to X on Thursday.
Other criticisms of a potential ban cite an unfair prejudice against a minority group, with transgender individuals especially feeling that they have been targeted under Trump. While it's admirable that these groups are concerned about Constitutional rights, there seems to be a growing problem with gender confused shooters.
The New York Times claims that the right is ginning up this ire against transgender people by pointing out the fact that the Assumption Catholic Church shooter, who changed his name from Robert Westman to Robin Westman, struggled with his gender and self-hatred. "I am tired of being trans, I wish I never brainwashed myself," Westman wrote.
The Times pointed out that this line was something conservatives "focused on" too much, as Westman seemed at other times content to indulge in his fantasy of being a girl even amid the uncertainty. "I don’t know if I am a trans girl. It is undeniable that I like how I look in girl clothes. I like thinking about being a girl," he added.
Nashville's Covenant Christian School similarly struggled with her biological reality while claiming to be a man. Although authorities fought legal battles to cover up these inconvenient facts about the shooter, it's clear that the deep-seated conflict about the most fundamental aspect of identity is a red flag that signals how disturbed the person is.
However, activists who fight for transgender rights insist this disorder has nothing to do with the violence and is instead an excuse to target these individuals. "To scapegoat an entire marginalized community in a moment of such intense national grief is wrong, dangerous, and dehumanizing," Human Rights Campaign spokesman Brandon Wolf said.
There's nothing wrong with using this evidence of disordered behavior and mental disturbance to identify people who are a threat to themselves or others. It's understandable that some believe the Second Amendment is sacrosanct, but there may be arguments to be made that some individuals deserve more scrutiny than others when it comes to their right to keep and bear arms.
