Sources familiar with the workings of the Biden White House say he will pick gun-control advocate David Chipman (shown) to lead the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
Chipman is a senior policy advisor at Giffords, a group led by former Arizona Representative Gabby Giffords (D-Ariz.) that advocates for stricter gun laws. Giffords’s husband is recently elected U.S. Senator Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.).
Prior to this role, Chipman was a special agent for the ATF.
“David has spent his career serving the public, combating violent crime, and striving to make our nation and our communities safer. As a responsible gun owner, decorated law enforcement professional, and gun safety expert, David is the perfect choice for ATF director,” Giffords said of Chipman.
If by that she means “perfect” for eroding Americans’ constitutional liberties, she’s right.
“GOA [Gun Owners of America] is … shocked at the brazen decision to nominate a registered anti-gun lobbyist to be director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives,” GOA Vice President Erich Pratt said to Fox News. “David Chipman’s anti-constitutional lobbying career clearly disqualifies him from holding public office.”
The outlet noted:
Dudley Brown, president of the National Association for Gun Rights, noted Chipman’s role as a case agent for ATF in the Branch Davidian trial while he was based at the Waco, Texas, field office.
“David Chipman has been on the leading edge of ATF scandals for decades, all the way back to Waco — and now he shills for gun confiscation with Gun Control Inc.,” Brown said. “Chipman has embraced every hair-brained gun control scheme proposed, so of course Biden and Harris chose him — he’ll fit right in with their corrupt administration.”
Joe Biden proposed several measures to limit firearm ownership and the Second Amendment in a speech from the Rose Garden on Thursday, including red-flag laws, restrictions on “ghost guns,” and making gunmakers liable for crimes committed with the weapons they manufacture.
Biden characterized firearm makers as “the only industry in America, a billion dollar industry, that can’t be sued,” conveniently ignoring the fact that federal law shields vaccine companies from being sued by those who have been vaccine-injured.
“Imagine how different it would be if that same exemption had been available to tobacco companies?” Biden added, saying that making gun manufacturers liable for gun-related crimes is his top wish.
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The Democrat’s remarks, however, are pure rhetoric. As with any other company (except vaccine manufacturers), gunmakers can be sued for crimes they themselves commit.
But they presently can’t be held accountable for misdeeds done by other people with the guns they make, and for good reason. Should a car company be liable when someone commits manslaughter with one of their vehicles? Should a tool or utensil company be liable if someone commits murder with a hammer or kitchen knife? Should the makers of aspirin be sued when someone commits suicide via overdose?
But Biden’s anti-gun rant didn’t end there. Declaring that Congress has offered “plenty of thoughts and prayers” but have not passed “a single new federal law to reduce gun violence,” he called on Congress to ban semi-automatic rifles (“assault weapons,” as Democrats frequently call them) and high-capacity magazines and to institute a national “red flag law.”
Red flag laws, which already exist in many states, allow local law enforcement to obtain orders from a judge to confiscate an individual’s firearms even if he has not been tried or convicted in a court of law — but merely on the grounds that someone (such as a disgruntled neighbor or ex) said the individual is dangerous. Red flag laws are a complete violation of due process.
“These laws allow police or a family member to petition a court, in their jurisdiction, and say ‘I want you to temporarily remove, from the following people, any firearm they may possess because they’re danger [sic] in a crisis. They’re presenting a danger to themselves and to others.’ And the court makes a ruling,” Biden explained, adding, “We know red flag laws can have significant effect in protecting women from domestic violence and we know red flag laws can stop mass shooters before they can act out their violent plans.”
The term “ghost guns” refers to homemade firearms and/or improvised arms that lack serial numbers. Democrats use the term to describe guns that can be built from kits or 80-percent frames/lowers.
Biden said he wants these kits to be treated as firearms under the Gun Control Act of 1968.
Under that act, Biden said, the key parts of these gun-making kits would be required to have serial numbers, allowing them to be traced. There would also be mandatory background checks for people purchasing kits.
Attorney General Merrick Garland said the federal government will hand over more than $1 billion in funding to communities to crack down on gun violence.
Biden pointed to Wednesday’s shooting at a South Carolina home that left five dead as justification for his proposals.
“So many people, so many people sitting here today know that well, unfortunately. They know what it’s like when seconds change your life forever,” Biden said, adding that gun violence is an “epidemic” that has made the United States an “international embarrassment.”
