President BidenHarris’s nominee to head the federal gun regulator, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and whatever else they want to get involved in, is taking questions from senators today as part of his confirmation process. The aging senior senator from Iowa may not have his fastball anymore, but he hit the nail on the head with these comparisons illustrating what Chipman’s presence at the top of the ATF would be like . . .
Chuck Grassley says that putting a gun control advocate like Chipman in charge of the ATF would be like putting Antifa in charge of the Portland police department. pic.twitter.com/RaJ7kDmOUE
— The First (@TheFirstonTV) May 26, 2021
Texas Senator John Cornyn asked the remarkably uncomfortable-looking nominee if a law-abiding gun owner is a threat to public safety.
Sen. @JohnCornyn asked “is a law abiding gun owner a threat to public safety?”@davidchipman‘s first response was to point out that law abiding gun owners can “go on to commit violent crime[s]”
That’s the lens through which this @ATFHQ Director Nominee views @gunowners pic.twitter.com/Kabyjxi2XJ
— Aidan Johnston (@RealGunLobbyist) May 26, 2021
In essence, the man grumpy grampy Joe wants to run the ATF believes that every firearm in civilian hands is just a crime waiting to happen. That’s exactly the mindset you want in a person charged with regulating firearms in a nation where the right to keep and bear arms is enshrined in the Second Amendment, isn’t it?
It didn’t get any better when the subject turned to “assault weapons.” Chipman, a current Giffords-paid gun control advocate, is on record as supporting another ban on America’s most popular rifles. Never mind that the last ban has beed judged a failure, even by those on the left side of the political spectrum.
Chipman really didn’t want to be tied down to a specific definition of an “assault weapon.”
ATF NOMINEE CHIPMAN: “There’s no way I could define an assault weapon in thirty seconds.”
SEN. KENNEDY: “If you won’t answer my question, how can I vote for you?” pic.twitter.com/efb1FiYTK6
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) May 26, 2021
Conceding to a definition is awfully inconvenient if you’re a regulator. That standard could come back to bite you in the ass in the future and limits your room to maneuver. Better to keep things loose so you can apply varying definitions in different situations as and when you choose to.
But listen to how Chipman finally answered Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton’s question about what constitutes an “assault weapon” . . .
Senator @TomCottonAR asks Biden’s ATF nominee David Chipman to define an “assault weapon”:
“Any semi-automatic rifle capable of accepting a detachable magazine above the caliber of .22” pic.twitter.com/EA4NveiqKt
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) May 26, 2021
In short, if David Chipman has his way, any semi-automatic rifle more powerful than a Ruger 10/22 that takes a detachable magazine would be outlawed. And he further opined that extending NFA regulation to all currently-owned “assault weapons” would be a good way to “balance the rights and responsibilities of Americans.”
That means Chipman would like to mandate that current owners of every semi-automatic rifle chambered above a .22 should have to register their rifles and pay a $200 tax in order to keep them.
It seems safe to say that no ATF nominee has ever been so extreme and openly hostile in his antipathy to individual gun rights, or has provoked such rabid opposition from those who value the Second Amendment.
Let’s send Chipman packing! https://t.co/Hx6LkXYYLg pic.twitter.com/fGtpO4ZF8f
— Iraqveteran8888 (@Iraqveteran8888) May 26, 2021
