00:00The Justice Department is considering expanding federal gun restrictions to include transgender
00:05individuals. The move follows a mass shooting at a Minneapolis Catholic church that killed
00:11two children and injured 21 others, according to news reports.
00:17Officials say the talks are preliminary and no formal proposal has been made.
00:22The August 27th shooting was carried out by a transgender woman during a service
00:27where most victims were children. A DOJ spokesperson told the Wall Street Journal that
00:32officials are discussing ways to reduce violence among people with mental health or substance use
00:38challenges. Advocacy groups have renewed calls for stronger gun laws. Moms Demand Action urged
00:44lawmakers to act quickly, saying time and time again mass shootings carried out with weapons of war
00:49in children's lives. Gender dysphoria is listed as a mental disorder in the DSM, the medical handbook
00:56used to diagnose mental conditions, but scholars say it is distress, not identity, that defines the
01:03condition. Some critics have used this to argue for limiting rights, including gun ownership.
01:09Operation Blazing Sword, an LGBTQ advocacy group, pushed back, saying the shooter's gender identity
01:15is irrelevant and should not be used to generalize about the community. A federal law already bars
01:22felons, domestic violence, convicts, and some people with mental health issues from owning guns.
01:28Read the full story right now on the Straight Arrow News mobile app or on san.com.
01:32For Straight Arrow News, I'm Kaylee Carey.
