‘I’m allowed to say what I want to say’: Pierce County Sheriff Keith Swank asks if trans people should own guns

Pierce County Sheriff Keith Swank posed a question on his X social media account Monday afternoon, asking, “Do you think it’s time to ban trans people from owning guns?” days after a school shooter in Minnesota was confirmed to be transgender. It was intended to be provocative: to get Democrats to ditch their common demand of gun bans.

“Most people said if there are mental health issues, we should possibly think about confiscating guns or taking them away until their symptoms are cleared up,” Swank said on The Jason Rantz Show on Seattle Red 770 AM. “Then I had some absolutist Second Amendment people who said under no circumstances should anybody have a gun confiscated from them.”

The X post generated more than 350 comments in under 24 hours. But he said it also generated a call from KIRO Newsradio, asking about the department’s social media policy. He interpreted this as an attempt to silence him.

Trying to silence the Sheriff?

“I think they’re trying to say I violated a policy and I should be held accountable, which is really funny because who holds me accountable other than the voters?” Swank asked. “They can un-elect me if they want to, but the fact of the matter is, the buck stops with me. I’m the one who makes the final decision about it.”

Swank further explained the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office social media policies and procedures used to confirm whether a post can be shared or not.

“There is a four-page policy, and I haven’t dove into it too deeply because it was a policy in place before me,” Swank said. “But basically, it says you can post stuff, and if there’s anything that’s possibly controversial, you ask permission from the sheriff. So I asked the sheriff for permission, and he said I could do it.”

As the acting Sheriff of Pierce County, Swank can approve himself and others to post statements on social media accounts in accordance with the Sheriff’s Office policy.

“Even if it was a violation of policy, who determines that?” Rantz asked.

“It’s me, I determine that. It wasn’t a violation of policy, I’m allowed to say what I want to say,” Swank said.

Swank breaks down position

In a previous post on Aug. 29, Swank detailed how he attained a psychology degree in 1994, when “gender dysphoria was a mental health disorder.” Swank continued to state that, “Now they tell us it’s normal to think you are a girl when you are a boy. It’s not normal.”

Swank elaborated on his statement and provided his in-depth opinion on the transgender mental health topic.

“I would say if you truly believe you’re a girl when you’re a boy or vice versa, that you have mental health issues, and you need to get help,” Swank said. “Saying psychology evolves over the years is not the way it is. You can’t just say now, all of a sudden, thinking this way is normal. It’s not normal to think you’re a boy when you’re a girl or vice versa.”

Free speech rights at play

Swank stood firm in his ability to exercise his free speech rights amid controversy, which questioned the Sheriff’s Office’s social media policies.

“I’ve been a free speech advocate for a long time, but there can be consequences for your speech. Something could happen, somebody could sue you,” Swank said. “But I’m for free speech. I would think that most of the people who are deputies on the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office wouldn’t put out something as provocative as me.”

In a separate post on Tuesday, Swank referred to a comment from KIRO that asked for details on the department’s social media policies.

Last night, a reporter from KIRO sent an email to my PIO wanting to know our social media policy. It’s obvious this person wants to silence me. Here’s the policy: I am the Sheriff, and I can say whatever I want.

— Sheriff Keith Swank (@Swank4America) September 2, 2025

Listen to The Jason Rantz Show on weekday afternoons from 3 p.m. – 7 p.m. on Seattle Red on 770 AM (HD Radio 97.3 FM HD-Channel 3). Subscribe to the podcast here. Follow Jason Rantz on X, Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook.