Sixty-nine House Republicans have signed a letter to Senate leadership urging them to reject the nomination of David Chipman as director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms.
“Chipman’s confirmation would not only jeopardize the constitutional right of every legal firearm owner in America, but it would also threaten to reshape the landscape of firearms ownership for generations of Americans to come,” the letter first obtained by Fox News reads.
Representative Jim Banks (R-Indiana) lead the effort staunchly opposed to the nomination of Chipman.
From The New York Post:
The letter says Chipman is a “longtime gun control and lobbyist.”
“His beliefs and hostile attitude toward the rights of gun owners are well known,” the GOP lawmakers wrote. “Thus, we respectfully ask that you oppose his confirmation.”
They point to comments he made in 2018 about how AR-15 rifles should be treated as machine guns and regulated under the National Firearms Act.
“As a former agent of the ATF, Chipman knows all too well that such action would effectively ban the most popular rifle in America as well as most other items regulated under the National Firearms Act,” Banks, chairman of the House Republican Study Committee, and his Republican colleagues wrote.
It was also pointed out in the letter that during the aftermath of the Waco siege Chipman falsely claimed that civilians shot down Texas Air National Guard helicopters. Republicans are rallying against Chipman’s long list of remarks that are being described as “historical falsehoods.”
