Mr. Gibson lost his right to own guns after his conviction in 2011. Federal law prohibits all those with felony convictions, and those with certain domestic violence misdemeanors, from possessing guns.

There could be no better poster boy than Mel Gibson for the wisdom of "red flag" laws, which allow the state to remove guns from people in a mental health crisis or who are an active threat to the community.

A former pardon attorney for the Department of Justice says she was fired after refusing to support restoring Mel Gibson's gun rights, which he lost due to a 2011 domestic violence conviction.