U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to reportedly restore actor Mel Gibson’s gun rights will following a controversial decision.
The move, approved along with similar rights restorations for nine other individuals, comes despite Gibson’s past domestic violence conviction and has already sparked ethical concerns within the Justice Department.
According to The New York Times, the decision to reinstate Gibson’s Second Amendment rights will soon be made public via the Federal Register.
Gibson, a high-profile conservative and vocal supporter of President Donald Trump, lost his gun ownership rights in 2011 after pleading no contest to a misdemeanor domestic violence charge. The conviction stemmed from a 2010 altercation involving his then-girlfriend and their child.
Gibson’s legal team reportedly petitioned the Justice Department to reverse the gun rights revocation shortly after the latest announcement.
While Pam Bondi approved the request, the ruling does not guarantee that Mel Gibson will be able to legally own a gun in every U.S. state. State-level laws still vary widely, and many have their own restrictions that apply regardless of federal rulings.
The decision comes amid internal conflict within the DOJ, especially surrounding the ethical implications of restoring firearm access to someone with a documented history of violence.
Elizabeth G. Oyer, the department’s former pardon attorney, was fired in March after resisting pressure to include Gibson’s name in a memo recommending the restoration of gun rights to nine individuals.
While the Trump administration has denied any connection between Oyer’s firing and her opposition to the Gibson inclusion, the timeline has raised questions.
Oyer told The New York Times that she was added to the working group discussing the restoration of rights just two weeks before her dismissal — an unusual move given that the Justice Department seldom intervenes directly in such matters. She expressed concern over being asked to write a recommendation without adequate time to vet Gibson or assess the risk he could pose.
She ultimately decided she could not support restoring Gibson’s rights lightly, particularly due to the violent nature of his conviction. “There are real consequences that flow from people who have a history of domestic violence being in possession of firearms,” Oyer said. “This isn’t political — this is a safety issue.”
Gibson, who starred in films like Braveheart and Lethal Weapon, was previously named by Trump as one of Hollywood’s “special ambassadors,” alongside fellow conservative actors Sylvester Stallone and Jon Voight.
When Trump first announced the designation, Gibson expressed surprise, saying, “I got the tweet at the same time as all of you.”
While the official reinstatement of his gun rights may please some political allies, it has reignited debate over how the U.S. handles firearm access for individuals with violent criminal records — and the role political favoritism may play in those decisions.