We Need To Classify Gender Dysphoria As A Mental Illness Again

When a tragedy like the one at Annunciation Catholic School on August 27 unfolds, the knee-jerk reaction from Democrats and their allies in the corporate media is to demand more gun control and recruit Republicans to pass red flag laws.

There is a solution, however, that wouldn’t require any further encroachment on law-abiding Americans’ Second Amendment rights. In fact, the answer lies in the very paperwork and background checks that critics often claim aren’t enough of an obstacle to guns.

Curbing the alarming rise of shootings committed by individuals experiencing gender dysphoria starts with treating transgenderism as a serious mental health issue.

Page two of the 4473 transaction record required for any gun purchase from a federally-licensed firearms dealer includes a series of yes or no questions designed to determine someone’s eligibility to purchase and own firearms. Question 21 subhead g specifically asks a potential buyer whether they have “ever been adjudicated as a mental defective OR have you ever been committed to a mental institution?”

As the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms has clarified, this provision does not apply to “a person in a mental institution for observation or by voluntary admission.” Instead, it bars individuals who were “formally committed to a mental institution by court, board, commission or other lawful authority” involuntarily for “mental defectiveness or mental illness” or other reasons such as “drug use.”

For centuries, an open desire to masquerade as the opposite sex was defined and treated as a significant mental and behavioral disorder. By 1980, transgenderism was officially classified as a psychosexual disorder in the third edition of the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. More than 30 years later in 2013, however, the APA’s fifth edition DSM removed gender identity disorder as a diagnosis and replaced it with gender dysphoria, which focused less on fixing gender identity issues and more on alleviating the “marked incongruence.”

Widely recognized American and global health and medical institutions quickly followed the APA’s lead in moving away from classifying transgenderism as a mental illness. Some, such as Johns Hopkins, went as far as opening centers devoted to “affirming” those struggling with their gender identity. By 2019, the World Health Organization removed “gender incongruence” from its list of official disorders.

These irreversible interventions, often referred to as lifesaving “gender affirming care,” paired with rhetoric from some political leaders, have had more than a decade to take effect. The results, as seen in both science and culture, are concerning. More individuals are struggling with issues related to gender identity, and there is a noted increase in violent acts often linked to these struggles.

In previous decades, the troubling behavior exhibited by individuals like the shooter in the recent school incident would have likely resulted in institutionalization and disqualification from obtaining a firearm. Instead, the impulses and feelings of individuals experiencing gender dysphoria are often supported by their families and societal influences.

Jordan Boyd is a staff writer at The Federalist and producer of The Federalist Radio Hour. Her work has also been featured in The Daily Wire, Fox News, and RealClearPolitics. Jordan graduated from Baylor University where she majored in political science and minored in journalism. Follow her on X @jordanboydtx.