Biden’s ATF Nominee Called an “Enemy of the Second Amendment”

[Charlie T Waite]

David Chipman, President Joe Biden’s (D) nominee to lead the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), is an “enemy of the Second Amendment,” say dozens of House Republicans who are urging senators to oppose Chipman’s nomination, according to a report from Fox News. 

The letter, obtained by Fox News, was signed by nearly 70 House Republicans and sent to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).

The letter described Chipman as a “longtime gun control activist and lobbyist,” while also saying his confirmation would “jeopardize” Americans’ Second Amendment rights. It further read that his “beliefs and hostile attitude toward the rights of gun owners are well known. Thus, we respectfully ask that you oppose his confirmation.” 

House Republicans cited Chipman’s desire to regulate AR-style rifles under the National Firearms Act, noting, “As a former agent of the ATF, Chipman knows all too well that such action would effectively ban the most popular rifle in America….”In fact, Americans legally own more 20 million of these popular semi-automatic rifles. 

“If confirmed, David Chipman would use every tool at his disposal to attack American gun owners and we respectfully ask you to oppose any and all action that would advance his confirmation in the Senate,” they wrote.

As America’s 1st Freedom reported, when Chipman was nominated: “While proclaiming himself last year to be a ‘proud gun owner’ who is ‘mischaracterized as a gun grabber,’ Chipman has, nevertheless, spent the last five years working for an organization that favors nearly every anti-gun scheme currently under consideration.”

Chipman once worked for Michael Bloomberg’s anti-gun organization Mayors Against Illegal Guns and, prior to his nomination, was a senior policy adviser for the gun-ban group Giffords.

He also happens to despise the NRA’s efforts to expand the right to self-defense. “At the state level, the NRA and its allies advocate for measures that allow untrained, unlicensed people to carry firearms in all public places and for reckless ‘Stand Your Ground’ laws that allow armed individuals to use deadly force with impunity,” said Chipman. “In Congress, the gun lobby has spent years advancing a dangerous proposal to force states with strong gun laws to allow concealed carry for people from states with weak—or non-existent—permitting processes.”

Chipman’s nomination came the same day that the Biden administration published its wish list of executive actions the president would like to take against the Second Amendment.