Cole Tomas Allen, the 23-year-old suspected of opening fire near the White House Correspondents' Dinner venue, allegedly shared posts on social media urging transgender Americans to purchase firearms over fears that the Trump administration might restrict their right to own guns. A Bluesky account believed to belong to Allen posted a CNN article about potential DOJ action on transgender gun ownership with the caption: 'Best time to buy a gun was ___ days ago. Second best time is today.'
The post shared an article titled 'Trump DOJ is looking at ways to ban transgender Americans from owning guns, sources say,' which discussed proposals under consideration by the Department of Justice following a mass shooting at a Minneapolis Catholic church carried out by a 23-year-old transgender woman. The CNN reporting framed the DOJ review as potentially representing 'a dramatic escalation of the Trump administration's fight against the rights of transgender Americans.' Allen's LinkedIn profile indicates he graduated from Caltech with a degree in mechanical engineering in 2017.
What the Left Is Saying
Civil liberties advocates and LGBTQ+ organizations have argued that any federal ban on gun ownership based on gender identity would face significant constitutional hurdles. The American Civil Liberties Union has previously stated that such restrictions could violate both the Second Amendment and equal protection principles under the Fifth Amendment. Transgender rights groups have emphasized that the broader community consists of law-abiding citizens with no greater propensity for violence than any other demographic group.
Progressive commentators on social media noted that Allen's posts, while alarming in context, appeared to reflect genuine concerns held by some transgender Americans about potential policy changes affecting their rights. 'People are scared,' one user wrote in a widely-shared post. 'When the government signals it wants to take your rights away, of course people explore every legal option to protect themselves.' Some left-leaning voices argued that the focus on Allen's political posts distracts from addressing underlying issues of mental health access and gun violence prevention.
What the Right Is Saying
Conservative commentators pointed to the Minneapolis church shooting cited in the CNN article as evidence supporting increased scrutiny of firearms access. Senator John Cornyn of Texas, who has worked on Second Amendment legislation, said in a statement that 'any time we see a pattern linking a demographic to mass violence, law enforcement should have every available tool to act preemptively.' The Heritage Foundation's Second Amendment specialist argued that existing federal background check systems already account for mental health disqualifiers and that expanding categories based on documented violent incidents falls within constitutional bounds.
Republican lawmakers have pointed to the DOJ's review as an appropriate exercise of executive branch authority. 'The Department of Justice has a responsibility to interpret federal firearms law in light of new evidence,' said a spokesperson for Senator Lindsey Graham, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Some conservative voices on social media criticized coverage of Allen's posts as designed to minimize the severity of his alleged crimes by focusing on policy debates rather than the shooting itself.
What the Numbers Show
Federal law currently prohibits firearm ownership for individuals who have been adjudicated as mentally incompetent or committed to involuntary mental health institutions. The Gun Control Act of 1968 and subsequent amendments prohibit possession by those convicted of felonies, domestic violence misdemeanors, and those subject to restraining orders. There is no existing federal statute categorically prohibiting transgender Americans from purchasing firearms based solely on gender identity.
According to FBI NICS data, approximately 300 million background checks have been conducted since the system's inception in 1998. The denial rate for all applicants averages roughly 0.5 percent. DOJ has not publicly released specifics about what proposals are under consideration regarding transgender gun ownership restrictions. A September 2025 Quinnipiac University poll found that 52 percent of Americans supported allowing transgender individuals to purchase firearms with the same requirements as other citizens, while 41 percent favored additional restrictions.
The Bottom Line
The case raises complex questions at the intersection of Second Amendment rights and gender identity policy. DOJ's review of potential gun ownership restrictions for transgender Americans remains ongoing, according to sources familiar with the matter. Allen faces charges in connection with the White House Correspondents' Dinner shooting; his manifesto, which officials say mocks Christian ethics while advocating resistance to government authority, has been provided to U.S. investigators.
Legal experts note that any federal prohibition on gun ownership based on gender identity would likely face court challenges centered on constitutional equal protection principles. What happens next depends partly on the outcome of DOJ's policy review and whether the administration pursues formal rulemaking or relies on existing enforcement mechanisms.