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The gay executive director of Guns Down America says the DOJ is creating a ‘bogeyman’’ rather than real solutions, and further putting trans lives at risk.
The Department of Justice is reportedly weighing a proposal to bar transgender people from owning firearms, a move that activists warn would do nothing to address the root causes of gun violence while further endangering an increasingly vulnerable community.
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Hudson Munoz, the gay executive director of Guns Down America, a nonprofit advocating for stronger gun safety laws and reduced gun proliferation, called the proposal “misplaced, cruel, and dangerous,” arguing that it scapegoats transgender people rather than addressing systemic failures in America’s gun policies.
“What won’t they do?” Munoz asked. “To avoid talking about the truth of gun violence, which is that permissive access and a massive deregulatory agenda around firearms is increasing the lethality and prevalence of guns in our communities. That is what leads to gun violence.”
Munoz noted that instead of investing in proven measures like community violence intervention programs, education, or workforce training, lawmakers are redirecting resources while manufacturing “bogeymen” to blame.
“They are going out of their way to create a bogeyman for gun violence, trans people, in order to avoid talking about the hard truths that need real solutions,” Munoz said. “It’s particularly cruel and misplaced, given the rates of suicide and self-harm in the LGBTQ community. This is part of a broader strategy to persecute marginalized communities and blame them for problems that the Trump administration is creating for itself.”
Munoz described the current administration’s approach as an “escalate and blame” strategy, ratcheting up rhetoric while deflecting responsibility. “What they’re doing here is escalating the rhetoric and blaming the wrong people for the problems they are creating,” he said.
Munoz fears the repercussions could be severe, and he warns that stigmatizing transgender people as uniquely dangerous could have ripple effects far beyond the gun debate.
“It’s going to make it harder for trans people to speak up and ask for help,” Munoz said. “This further stigmatizes a group of people and pushes them outside the bounds of medical care and social services, labeling them as dangerous. That’s a trope that has been used against the queer community, including trans people, for all-time, and it’s an ugly new face of old stigma.”
The danger, Munoz added, is not theoretical. “I’m actually very afraid we’ll see more violence against trans people,” he said. “It’s not a reach to conclude that as people are told trans people are dangerous and armed, some will take it upon themselves to feel justified in perpetuating violence against a community that already faces tremendous stigma and persecution.”
At the same time, Munoz emphasized, trans people are already contending with limited access to medical care, legal protections, and basic safety. Layering new restrictions that paint them as a public threat only increases their vulnerability.
“This is cruel,” Munoz said bluntly. “Instead of addressing gun violence with evidence-based solutions, this administration is targeting a marginalized group, escalating stigma, and putting lives at risk.”
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