The battle between Hollywood elites and conservative celebrities has been heating up for years.
Attorney General Pam Bondi just stepped into the fray.
And what Pam Bondi just did for Mel Gibson left Hollywood fuming.
The Department of Justice’s decision about Mel Gibson has Democrats absolutely livid.
The Department of Justice published a notice in the Federal Register on Tuesday that included ten Americans whose firearms privileges were being restored, with Gibson’s name appearing prominently on the list.
But getting Gibson his Constitutional rights back wasn’t without opposition from the entrenched bureaucracy in Washington, D.C.
Deep State bureaucrat fired after trying to block Trump administration moves
Elizabeth G. Oyer, a Justice Department pardon attorney, was fired after she deliberately blocked Gibson from having his gun rights restored.
During an April 7 congressional hearing, Oyer testified, “I had been asked to recommend restoring the firearm rights of a famous friend of the president who had lost his right to own a gun due to a domestic violence conviction.”
“I declined to do so based on concerns about public safety,” Oyer claimed, according to USA Today.
That “famous friend of the president” was none other than Mel Gibson, and Attorney General Bondi clearly recognized this as another example of the deep state working against President Trump’s agenda.
The Federal Register notice explains that under federal law, the U.S. Attorney General can restore gun rights if “the applicant will not be likely to act in a manner dangerous to public safety and that the granting of the relief would not be contrary to the public interest.”
Gibson had lost his right to possess firearms after a 2011 misdemeanor battery conviction that resulted from a fight with his then-partner. The Braveheart star pleaded “no contest” to the charge and received 36 months probation, as The New York Times reported at the time.
The conviction was officially vacated back in 2014 after Gibson successfully completed his probation, according to the Associated Press. But Democrats continued to block the restoration of his gun rights for another 11 years.
Gibson, who solidified his Hollywood stardom in the 1980s and ’90s with hits like Mad Max and Lethal Weapon, has since turned his life around.
According to People magazine, he quit drinking after the 2010 incident and in 2020 celebrated 10 years of sobriety.
Hollywood conservative gets Second Amendment victory despite leftist opposition
The 69-year-old actor and director isn’t just known for his filmmaking prowess but also for his outspoken conservative views and strong Catholic faith – positions that haven’t endeared him to Hollywood’s liberal elite.
However, his personal reformation after a troubled past has inspired others, including fellow actor Robert Downey Jr., who credits Gibson with helping him overcome his own struggles with addiction.
Gibson isn’t the only notable American on the list of those regaining their Second Amendment rights.
Former New York Jets star and NFL Hall of Famer Joseph Klecko, who lost his gun rights after a 1993 conviction for lying to a federal grand jury in an insurance fraud case, was also included.
In January, President Trump recognized Gibson’s cultural influence by naming him, along with fellow conservative actors Jon Voight and Sylvester Stallone, as “ambassadors to Hollywood.”
The restoration of Gibson’s gun rights represents another promise kept by the Trump administration to defend Americans’ Constitutional freedoms from unelected bureaucrats who try to obstruct them.
