Assault Weapon Comments
During the confirmation hearing, Chipman was asked by Senator Tom Cotton about his past comments in support of an “Assault Weapons Ban.” Here is the exchange between the Senator and ATF Nominee:
Cotton: You have called for an assault weapons ban. I have a simple question for you: What is an assault weapon?
Chipman: Senator, an assault weapon would be, in the context of the question you asked, what Congress defines it as.
Cotton: So you’re asking us to ban assault weapons. We have to write legislation. Can you tell me, what is an assault weapon? How would you define it if you were the head of the ATF? How have you defined it over the last several years in your role as a gun control advocate?
Chipman: Any semi-automatic rifle capable of accepting a detachable magazine above the caliber of .22, which would include a .223, which is, you know largely the AR-15 round.
Cotton: So you believe that every weapon that takes a detachable magazine, that can take a .22 round — or 5.56 in military parlance — should be defined as an assault weapon? A detachable magazine that takes a .556 or .22 round should be defined as an assault weapon?
Chipman: Senator, you asked me if ATF had used this term, and I was sharing with you my knowledge of a program in which ATF has defined this term,
Cotton: I’m amazed that might be the definition of assault weapon, that would basically cover every single modern sporting rifle in America today.
Tom Cotton is right to say that this overly vague definition would encompass almost every sporting rifle in America. The definition proposed by Chipman would cover pretty much anything on the AR and AK platforms, excluding rare variants of these platforms that are chambered in odd calibers.
It is clear from the way these questions were asked that Cotton wanted to know how Chipman would define the term while serving as ATF head(if he is confirmed.) Chipman seemed hesitant to answer this question and this may point to the actual definition he has in mind being far broader.
