Denied the need to hold a gun (7)
I believe the answer is:
negated
'denied' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'the need to hold a gun' is the wordplay.
'to hold' indicates putting letters inside.
'a gun' becomes 'gat' (gat is a kind of gun).
'need' placed around 'gat' is 'NEGATED'.
(Other definitions for negated that I've seen before include "Cancelled or destroyed the effect of something" , "Nullified" , "Contradicted" , "Discredited" , "Denied" .)