Domestic abuser mel gibson has firearms license restored

Trump's Justice Department has approved Mel Gibson, convicted domestic abuser, to legally own a firearm again.

Attorney General Pam Bondi has reinstated Gibson's right to own a firearm after it was revoked when Gibson was found guilty of domestic violence and pleading guilty to misdemeanour battery in 2011.

The charge stems from an incident in 2010, in which Gibson was accused by his then-girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva of being beaten and held at gunpoint in the presence of their one-year-old child. The attack resulted in Grigorieva suffering PTSD, broken teeth, and subsequent verbal abuse over the phone.

Mel Gibson did not contest the charge and pleaded guilty in court in order to avoid a jail sentence. He was sentenced to thirty-six months of informal probation, community service, a year of domestic violence counselling and $570 in fines.

Gibson was named a “special ambassador” to Hollywood by President Trump in January, along with Jon Voight and Sylvester Stallone.

Kris Brown, president of Brady United Against Gun Violence, said in a statement, “You can’t claim to be ‘tough on crime’ while arming domestic abusers. The Trump Administration’s decision to restore gun rights to Mel Gibson exposes their real agenda: rewarding political allies while creating a pipeline to put guns back in the hands of felons and violent offenders. We keep guns away from abusers because firearms increase homicide risk by 400%. Period.”

Mel Gibson has been at the center of several major controversies throughout his career. In 2006, he was arrested for driving under the influence and made anti-Semitic remarks to police officers at the scene. According to the arrest report, Gibson said “The Jews are responsible for all of the wars in the world!”

Gibson would later claim to Variety, that “it was an unfortunate incident.” He alluded to the incident being part of a nervous breakdown.

However, in a 2010 article with GQ, Winona Ryder would note another incident from long before 2006.

She said: “I remember, like, fifteen years ago, I was at one of those big Hollywood parties. And he was really drunk. I was with my friend, who's gay. He made a really horrible gay joke. And somehow it came up that I was Jewish. He said something about 'oven dodgers,' but I didn't get it. I'd never heard that before. It was just this weird, weird moment. I was like, 'He's anti-Semitic and he's homophobic.' No one believed me!"

Gibson’s firearm privileges have been at the centre of US politics for some time now.

Elizabeth Oyer, Pardon Attorney (a non-political role who supervises clemency and presidential pardons) of the US justice department was fired last month after refusing to recommend that Trump ally, Mel Gibson be allowed to own guns again.

Oyer said she had been working on a project to reinstate firearms rights to some people convicted of crimes and misdemeanours. While assessing an extended list of names, Oyer claims senior officials sent a memo which said: “We would like you to add Mel Gibson to this memo.”

Oyer told the Times: “Giving guns back to domestic abusers is a serious matter that, in my view, is not something that I could recommend lightly, because there are real consequences that flow from people who have a history of domestic violence being in possession of firearms.”

Oyer claims that Todd Blanche, Senior Official under the Deputy Attorney General, “essentially explained to me that Mel Gibson has a personal relationship with President Trump and that should be sufficient basis for me to make a recommendation and that I would be wise to make the recommendation.”

Oyer was one of seven officials fired by the Deputy General on March 7. Oyer claims this occurred shortly after she refused to recommend restoring Gibson’s firearm ownership rights.

The Justice Department warned Elizabeth Oyer to maintain confidentiality due to her role in presidential clemency decisions, should she wish to speak publicly in congress. Oyer’s lawyer called this claim baseless, asserting whistleblower protections.

Oyer, undeterred, testified before Congress and said: “I will not be bullied into concealing the ongoing corruption and abuse of power at the Department of Justice.”