Nix the “unusually divisive” Chipman as ATF Director for anti-gun lobbying, 20 AGs, Senators speak out
“After meeting with Mr. Chipman, listening to Mainers, and reviewing his record, I have decided to vote against Mr. Chipman’s nomination to serve as the ATF Director. In recent years, Mr. Chipman has been an outspoken critic of the firearms industry and has made statements that demean law-abiding gun owners.”” said the moderate Senator of Maine, Susan Collins.
“ Although he has the right to express his views, I believe this history makes him an unusually divisive pick for this important position. In particular, I am concerned that his confirmation would do significant damage to the collaborative working relationship that must exist between ATF, the firearms industry, sportsmen and women, and other law-abiding gun owners exercising their Second Amendment rights,”
Former Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Acting Director Michael Sullivan wrote that David Chipman, President Joe Biden’s (D) nominee to lead the ATF, would comprise the mission of the organization in a recent opinion piece, America’s 1st Freedom warned.
“We’ve written quite a bit (here, here, here, here, and here) about how Chipman—a man who has spent the last several years as a high-profile, anti-gun lobbyist—is truly unqualified to serve as Director of ATF. But we haven’t touched on one aspect of his written testimony that has recently come to light in a number of news articles, NRA, ILA warned.
Sen. Chuck Grassley: ‘Confirming David Chipman to ATF like putting Antifa in charge of Portland Police’ Lawenforcement Today weighed in.
Others such as obsessive anti gunners, Gabby Gifford, Bloomberg, with whom Chipman is associated are lobbying hard for his confirmation as head of ATF.
Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen and 20 other state attorneys general today called on the U.S. Senate to reject David Chipman’s confirmation as director of the Department of Justice’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), citing concerns over his approach to public safety and Americans’ right to keep and bear arms.
In a letter to U.S. Senate Republican and Democratic leadership, Knudsen and the coalition of attorneys general outlined the threat President Joe Biden’s ATF nominee would pose to law-abiding gun owners if confirmed to lead the agency responsible for regulating firearms. Chipman has a long history of anti-gun rights lobbying and activism.
“Mr. Chipman has a First Amendment right as a private citizen to work for these political organizations and to lobby for the taxation, registration, and even confiscation of firearms. Americans likewise have the Second Amendment to protect their God-given rights to keep and bear arms,” Knudsen and the attorneys general wrote. “Accordingly, we ask you to oppose Mr. Chipman’s confirmation to this important position and demand President Biden nominate someone who is not hostile to our rights and way of life.”
ATF agents play an important role in upholding the public safety of communities around the country and will be disserved by an agency director with a political agenda. Americans’ Second Amendment rights do not need to be infringed to keep them safe from violent criminals.
“Its agents deserve a director who will inspire confidence from the people they serve. Given Mr. Chipman’s history of anti-gun lobbying and political activism, Americans cannot be reasonably expected to believe he will be an unbiased enforcer of current laws,” the letter stated. “As the chief legal and law enforcement officers in our respective states, we are concerned that Mr. Chipman will make Americans less safe by diverting ATF resources to attack the rights of law-abiding gun owners instead of cracking down on violent criminals and criminal organizations.”
Attorneys general from Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah and West Virginia also signed onto Knudsen’s letter below :
Dear Senators:
May 25, 2021
The Honorable A. Mitchell McConnell Minority Leader
United States Senate
317 Russell Senate Office Building Washington, D.C. 20510
The Honorable Charles E. Grassley Ranking Member
Committee on the Judiciary Washington, D.C. 20510
The Second Amendment is the cornerstone of the Bill of Rights. It guarantees our natural God-given right to defend our lives, our families, our property, and our freedom. The confirmation of David Chipman to head the Department of Justice’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (“ATF”) is an attack on that right and on the millions of law-abiding gun owners across the country.
As state Attorneys General, we took an oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States and protect the rights and freedoms of our constituents. These responsibilities force us to stand in opposition to Mr. Chipman’s nomination and in support of our constituents’ rights.
Firearms are far beyond a hobby or a passion. They are a part of our national heritage and everyday life for tens of millions of Americans, particularly those of us who live in rural areas. We use them to hunt, protect livestock, and provide peace of mind when law enforcement may be miles away. This is why Mr. Chipman’s past affiliation with anti-gun organizations and his extreme positions on commonly owned firearms is so concerning to us as attorneys general and why he is unfit to be confirmed as head of the ATF.
Mr. Chipman has a long history with organizations whose mission is to erase the Second Amendment. He has spent the last five years as a senior policy advisor for the Giffords Law Center. This radical group attempted to defend Washington, D.C.’s complete ban on the possession of handguns in the home at the U.S. Supreme Court. This organization argued that “nothing in the Second Amendment restrains the authority of States or their political subdivisions” when enacting firearm regulations. This extreme position would allow politicians to run roughshod over the rights of their citizens. Fortunately, it did not prevail.
His direct advocacy has targeted mainstream gun owners. The AR-15 is one of, if not the most, popular rifles in America to the point news reports have called it “America’s rifle.” More and more Americans are seeing the utility and value of the AR-15 – demonstrating that yet again Mr. Chipman is out of touch with the mainstream.
In 2019 Congressional testimony, Mr. Chipman said he wants to ban the manufacturing and future sale of AR-15s. In his dream scenario, the millions of law- abiding Americans who already own these popular rifles would need to pay a $200 tax, subject themselves to fingerprinting and another federal background check, and have that information stored in a federal registration system.
It is indisputable that an extremely small percentage of gun crimes are committed with AR-15s – a fact that should be well known to a former ATF agent. Given Mr. Chipman’s radical views and disdain for the facts, it is not a stretch to wonder if he wants owners of any type of firearm placed in a government registry. More people are murdered with sharp objects than with any type of rifle. Does he believe letter openers should also be taxed and registered?
The ATF has an important role to play in upholding the public safety of communities around the country. Its agents deserve a director who will inspire confidence from the people they serve. Given Mr. Chipman’s history of anti-gun lobbying and political activism, Americans cannot be reasonably expected to believe he will be an unbiased enforcer of current laws. As chief law enforcement or legal officers in our respective states, we are concerned that Mr. Chipman will make Americans less safe by diverting ATF resources to attack the rights of law-abiding gun owners instead of cracking down on violent criminals and criminal organizations.
Mr. Chipman has a First Amendment right as a private citizen to work for these political organizations and to lobby for the taxation, registration, and even confiscation of firearms. Americans likewise have the Second Amendment to protect their God-given rights to keep and bear arms. Accordingly, we ask you to oppose Mr. Chipman’s confirmation to this important position and demand President Biden nominate someone who is not hostile to our rights and way of life.
Sincerely,
Austin Knudsen
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF MONTANA
NRA objects to Chipman, but he is rabid anti gunner Gifford’s man: