A brutal, targeted shooting at a Rhode Island high school hockey game is now colliding with a new culture-war question: who, exactly, gets to keep their Second Amendment rights when “mental health” becomes the filter?
Story Snapshot
- Pawtucket, Rhode Island police say a Monday-night attack at Dennis M. Lynch Arena was a targeted familicide, not a random mass shooting.
- Investigators say the gunman, Robert Dorgan, used two legally purchased firearms and had a Florida concealed carry license.
- Police say Dorgan had transitioned in 2020 and that family conflict over gender identity was part of the background they were examining.
- Fox News host Lawrence Jones argued that people who “actually think they’re another sex” should be barred from gun ownership, framing it as a mental-health disqualifier.
What happened at the Dennis M. Lynch Arena
Pawtucket police say 56-year-old Robert Dorgan opened fire during a high school hockey game at Dennis M. Lynch Arena on a night tied to his son’s “senior night” recognition. Investigators said Dorgan entered, left, and later returned before shooting family members seated in the bleachers. Police said the attack killed Rhonda Dorgan (his ex-wife) and Aidan Dorgan (his son), and ended with Dorgan taking his own life.
Police details indicate multiple other victims were hit, with three people described as critically injured: Rhonda Dorgan’s parents, Linda and Gerald Dorgan, and a family friend, Thomas Giarrusso. Chief Tina Goncalves told reporters the shooting appeared “very targeted,” and officials have not described it as tied to a broader ideology or public grievance. Investigators said bystanders intervened as chaos unfolded, and they have continued executing search warrants while piecing together a motive.
Legal guns, a Florida carry license, and unanswered warning-sign questions
Police said Dorgan used two firearms—a Glock 10mm and a SIG Sauer P226—and that the weapons were legally purchased. They also said he had a valid Florida concealed carry permit and had not raised major alarms with local law enforcement in Pawtucket before the incident. That combination—legal purchase, valid permit, and no obvious local red flags—underscores why investigators are emphasizing a still-unknown “trigger” rather than claiming an easily identifiable public threat profile.
Chief Goncalves also said Dorgan’s presence at prior games was “not unusual,” and that the family did not anticipate violence that night. Investigators said they found no suicide note and no extremist links at the time of the briefing. Those facts matter because the current policy debate often lurches toward sweeping restrictions after high-profile tragedies. With motive still unclear, the available evidence points first to domestic breakdown and targeted intent, rather than a general public attack planned to maximize casualties.
How transgender identity entered the public debate
Police said Dorgan transitioned in 2020, used names including “Roberta Dorgan” or “Roberta Esposito,” and wore women’s clothing. Investigators also said family conflict related to gender identity was part of the background they were examining. That single detail has already shaped how the story is being argued nationally, even as police have stressed that the core facts remain those of a familicide at a school sporting event with a motive still under investigation.
Because the case involves legal firearms and an unresolved motive, it is also primed for a familiar political fight: whether to treat a broad category of people as presumptively dangerous. The limited reporting available in the research does not establish that gender identity itself was causal in the violence, and police have not presented evidence that transition status was the determining factor. What is established is that identity-related conflict existed in the family backdrop.
Lawrence Jones’ argument and the risk of weaponizing “mental health”
On Fox News, host Lawrence Jones argued that people who “actually think they’re another sex” should not be allowed to own guns, framing that belief as a mental-health disqualifier in Second Amendment terms. For conservatives who have watched “public health” language get used to expand government power, the immediate question is whether such a standard could be defined narrowly—or whether it becomes another elastic label that bureaucrats and activists can stretch to target disfavored groups.
Fox's Lawrence Jones Argues Trans People Who Actually 'Think They're Another Sex' Shouldn't Be Allowed to Own Guns https://t.co/FqLCnsrXc2
— Mediaite (@Mediaite) February 18, 2026
Existing federal restrictions typically hinge on specific adjudications, such as certain court findings or involuntary commitments, not broad cultural or political categories. The facts available here—legal purchases, a carry license, and a targeted domestic attack—do not, by themselves, prove that expanding disqualifiers to identity-based definitions would have stopped this crime. As the investigation continues, the strongest constitutional approach is to demand clear, objective standards tied to due process rather than emotion-driven category bans.
Sources:
New details revealed about seconds before trans gunman opened fire at Rhode Island hockey game
