Mel Gibson’s gun rights will reportedly be restored more than a decade after losing them over a domestic violence incident.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi approved the decision to allow the actor — a staunch conservative and vocal supporter of Donald Trump — to own a gun again, in addition to nine other people, according to The New York Times.
The outlet cited sources familiar with the decision, noting that the details will be publicly announced in the Federal Register soon.
Gibson lost his Second Amendment rights in 2011 following his misdemeanor domestic violence conviction, concerning an altercation with his then-girlfriend and their child in 2010.
The Braveheart actor was previously named one of Trump’s “special ambassadors” to Hollywood, in addition to conservative actors Sylvester Stallone and Jon Voight.
Just after the announcement, Gibson’s lawyer asked the Justice Department to reverse the decision that revoked his gun rights.
Despite Bondi’s decision, Gibson can’t necessarily own a gun anywhere in the United States — different states have different restrictions, regardless of the federal decision.
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Bondi’s decision to appease Gibson’s request comes weeks after internal drama at the Justice Department surrounding the ethics of putting guns back in the hands of a convicted domestic abuser.
In March, DOJ pardon attorney Elizabeth G. Oyer was fired after pushing back when she was asked to restore the actor’s right to bear arms. The Trump administration denied any link between Oyer’s resistance and her termination.
Two weeks before Oyer was terminated, she was added to a group of federal employees discussing the restoration of gun rights to certain people who had been convicted of crimes, she told The New York Times. Oyer didn’t completely understand why she was being included in the discussion, considering the Justice Department rarely weighs in on such debates.
After Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche’s office determined a list of nine people to whom gun rights should be restored, Oyer was asked to write a memo recommending the decision — and to include one more name, Gibson, on the list.
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Oyer said she had no time to vet Gibson and the potential danger of restoring his gun rights. Also noting that his crime was a violent incident, Oyer ultimately determined that allowing him to own a gun “is not something that I could recommend lightly.”
“There are real consequences that flow from people who have a history of domestic violence being in possession of firearms,” Oyer told the Times. “This isn’t political — this is a safety issue.”
