Fox News host says transgender people should not be allowed to own guns in wake of Rhode Island shooting

Fox News host Lawrence Jones said that transgender people should not be allowed to own guns in the wake of a mass shooting at a Rhode Island ice rink.

Jones was discussing Monday’s shooting at the Dennis M. Lynch Arena in Pawtucket — located about five miles from Providence — where 56-year-old Robert Dorgan killed his son and ex-wife during a hockey game, before taking his own life.

Dorgan, who also went by the name “Roberta,” had undergone gender reassignment surgery and struggled with family issues, The Independent previously reported.

On Fox News’ The Five, Jones seized the opportunity to argue that gun ownership and “gender dysphoria is a problem,” a position that has been adopted by many conservatives.

“If you are someone that just wants to wear a dress, no problems,” Jones said on Tuesday’s show. “If you are someone that just wants to identify as another sex, but you know deep down that you’re not, but you just want to be called ‘he’ or ‘she’ that’s one thing. But if you, from a psychological standpoint, think that you are another sex, you should not have a gun.”

“Something that has been diagnosed as gender dysphoria is a problem,” Jones added. “If you mentally think you’re someone that you are not, that has to be addressed.”

The vast majority of perpetrators in mass shootings are cisgender (or non-trans) men — up to 98 percent, according to the Violence Prevention Project.

While being transgender in itself is not classified as a mental disorder, trans people usually need to be diagnosed with a condition known as gender dysphoria, or gender identity disorder, so they can access healthcare.

The Trump administration’s Justice Department last year considered banning trans people from owning guns after 23-year-old Robin Westman, a transgender woman, killed two children and injured 18 more at a Minneapolis Catholic church.

The plans were met with opposition by major Second Amendment groups historically aligned with Republicans, including the National Rifle Association, among the nation’s largest and most influential lobbying groups, who said “the Second Amendment isn’t up for debate” in a statement at the time.

In Dorgan’s case, where police are still working to ascertain the facts, familial disputes arose following the father’s surgery in 2020. At the time, he made a complaint to police that his father-in-law had reacted negatively to the operation and had threatened to murder him using “an Asian street gang.”

Court records indicate that the father-in-law was later charged with witness intimidation among other charges, though these were later dismissed. Police records also show that Dorgan’s mother was accused of assault and acting in a “violent, threatening or tumultuous manner.” Her case was also tossed out.

Amidst the infighting, Dorgan’s marriage fell apart.

His then-wife, Rhonda, cited “gender reassignment surgery, narcissistic + personality disorder traits” when filing for divorce. However, these reasons were ultimately removed from the paperwork and replaced with “irreconcilable differences which have caused the immediate breakdown of the marriage.” The divorce became official in 2021.

At the time, the divorce paperwork indicated that Dorgan was working as a truck driver and living in Jacksonville, Florida, according to WPRI.

Brendan Rascius and Io Dodds contributed to this report