President Joe Biden’s administration is slated to nominate gun control advocate David Chipman to lead the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), the agency that attempts to prevent the trafficking of firearms.
Chipman, who previously served in the ATF for 25 years, is a former adviser to the gun control advocacy group Everytown for Gun Safety and currently advises gun control group Giffords.
In making the announcement, Biden’s office said that the “ATF is the key agency enforcing our gun laws, and it needs a confirmed director in order to do the job to the best of its ability … But ATF has not had a confirmed director since 2015. Chipman served at ATF for 25 years and now works to advance commonsense gun safety laws.”
Chipman, in a Jan. 24 opinion article, claimed that the Constitution’s Second Amendment “envisions firearms as being ‘well regulated,’ and individual sheriffs aren’t entitled to decide whether a particular regulation is constitutional—that’s the job of the courts.”
The Second Amendment says, “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”
The National Rifle Association (NRA), in a tweet, said Wednesday that it “is ready to fight” following the announcement that Chipman will be tapped to lead the ATF.
Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), who was elected to Congress partially based on her pro-gun rights stance, warned that Biden “nominated a gun control lobbyist for ATF director,” adding: “The Second Amendment is being trampled, and I won’t stand for it.”
Biden is scheduled to make an announcement on new gun initiatives on Thursday afternoon. Last month, Biden said he would push for more gun control in the wake of shootings in Colorado and Atlanta.
“I don’t need to wait another minute, let alone an hour, to take common-sense steps that will save lives in the future,” Biden said last month.
According to the White House, Biden is slated to authorize an executive order that would regulate so-called “ghost guns,” or guns that can be manufactured at home without a serial number, as well as certain types of pistols, among other regulatory actions.
“The Justice Department, within 60 days, will issue a proposed rule to make clear when a device marketed as a stabilizing brace effectively turns a pistol into a short-barreled rifle subject to the requirements of the National Firearms Act. The alleged shooter in the Boulder tragedy last month appears to have used a pistol with an arm brace, which can make a firearm more stable and accurate while still being concealable,” the White House said.