Actor Mel Gibson Now Allowed To Own Guns Again, Per DOJ

Justice Department officials will allow actor Mel Gibson, a prominent supporter of President Trump, to own guns again, ending a once contentious debate that had roiled the upper ranks of the department. Concerns over restoring Gibson’s gun rights led to a tense back-and-forth with the Justice Department’s pardon attorney, Elizabeth Oyer, shortly before she was fired by the Trump administration last month. The decision, which also applies to nine others, was approved by Attorney General Pam Bondi. The specifics are expected to be published in The Federal Register, reports the New York Times. Oyer said she had refused to recommend that Gibson be included on a short list of people with criminal convictions who could have their gun rights restored, despite pressure to do so from her superiors. She said that a department official had tried to convince her to change her mind because Gibson “has a personal relationship with President Trump.”

Not long after that conversation, she and several other senior career lawyers at the Justice Department were abruptly terminated. A department official has denied that her dismissal was related to the disagreement about Gibson. Oyer said she had resisted because Gibson’s prior conviction was for a misdemeanor domestic violence matter. He pleaded no contest in 2011 to a battery charge involving his former girlfriend. Oyer said her concerns had nothing to do with politics, but with the safety risks of allowing someone with a record of domestic violence to own a gun. A lawyer for Gibson had asked the Trump administration to restore his gun rights, saying that in recent years he had tried to buy a weapon in Nevada but been denied because of the conviction. Even with a green light from the federal government, Gibson is not guaranteed to be able to own a gun again, as different states have their own restrictions on who can legally possess a firearm. Nevada law prohibits convicted felons from owning a gun, but Gibson pleaded to a misdemeanor, not a felony. The Trump administration’s effort to restore gun rights to Gibson is part of a broader bid by conservatives to allow some people with criminal convictions to again own firearms.