Fox News presenter Lawrence Jones has drawn criticism after suggesting transgender people should be barred from owning firearms in the United States during a segment discussing a fatal shooting at a Rhode Island ice rink.
Speaking on The Five on 17 February, Lawrence Jones made the remarks while the panel examined the 16 February shooting at the Dennis M. Lynch Arena in Pawtucket.
The incident involved 56-year-old Robert Dorgan, who fatally shot their son and ex-wife before taking their own life during a hockey game. Previous reporting indicated Dorgan had also used the name Roberta, had undergone gender-affirming surgery, and had experienced family-related difficulties.
During the discussion, Jones said, “If you’re someone who just wants to wear a dress, no problems.
“If you are someone that just wants to identify as another sex, but you know deep down that you’re not – but you just wanna 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.”
He continued: “Something that has been diagnosed as gender dysphoria is a problem, and all of us know it. We all have to fill out the federal gun form that talks about mental… you should have to check that box.”
Jones’ comments prompted debate online, with critics arguing that they conflated gender dysphoria with broader mental health disqualifications for firearm ownership.
Data from the Violence Prevention Project indicates that the overwhelming majority — up to 98 per cent — of mass shooting perpetrators in the United States are cisgender men.
Medical and psychiatric bodies do not classify being transgender as a mental disorder. However, individuals seeking gender-affirming healthcare often receive a diagnosis of gender dysphoria, a clinical term describing distress that can arise from incongruence between a person’s gender identity and sex assigned at birth.
The segment has reignited wider conversations about gun policy, mental health criteria for firearm access, and the treatment of transgender people in public discourse.
