Here’s Why David Chipman Is a Terrible Choice for ATF Director

By Larry Keane

Burned Down House iStock-177369812
Imagine this, but with charred innocent people and Chipman posing in front of it.  iStock-177369812

U.S.A. -(AmmoLand.com)- It’s hard to think of a worst possible nominee than David Chipman to run the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF). President Joe Biden could have nominated Robert Francis “Beto” O’Rourke, as he infamously promised him a gun control job at an El Paso campaign appearance. Or maybe even given the nod to Michael Bloomberg. It seems President Biden’s primary qualifications for the job are “must hate guns” and “belittle those who buy guns.”

The nomination of Chipman is a troubling reversal of years of proactive safety cooperation between ATF and our industry.  It is an undeniable targeting of a Constitutionally protected industry by President Biden who called us “the enemy.” It is also a reckless betrayal of the brave men and women of the ATF who have a difficult enough job without the politicization of the ATF. Under Chipman, ATF will pivot from enforcing the laws enacted by Congress to political activism.

Chipman is wholly unqualified to lead the men and women of the ATF. He surrendered any notion of being able to execute the duties the office requires when he became a lobbyist for Michael Bloomberg’s Everytown for Gun Safety and later for Giffords gun control group, along with his position as a senior policy advisor at Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence.

Among the bills he lobbied Congress on were universal background checks, handgun licensing and registration, banning modern sporting rifles (MSRs), instituting age-based gun bans, and establishing a national firearm transfer delay period.

That’s an unacceptable starting point for any nominee for this position. It’s putting the fox in charge of watching the hen house. The inverse would be if President Donald Trump had nominated Wayne LaPierre to take the job during his administration. The mainstream media and gun control camp would have howled, and not without cause. That’s why NSSF won’t passively simply oppose this nomination. NSSF is adamantly opposed. It will treat this nomination and any senators who vote in favor of it, as a threat to the firearm industry and Americans’ ability to exercise their fundamental Second Amendment rights that it is.

Chipman is unqualified and unworthy of this position of public trust. The U.S. Senate has a role to advise and consent, and it must examine the factors that make Chipman unacceptable as the ATF director.

Cronyism

Chipman’s nomination is the thank-you card for which gun control groups have been waiting. Several groups made it clear they expected President Biden to deliver big for them because they delivered big for him on the campaign trail. Bloomberg’s March for Our Lives demanded $1 billion in spending for gun bans and gun control, along with a Cabinet-level position to emphasize the Executive Branch’s seriousness on gun control. Just weeks ago, Giffords’s gun control was emphasizing their desire for action.

Gun control just got paid back in a big way. They didn’t get “a” man for the job. They got “their” man.

It was also a political play with Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz). He’s the co-founder of Giffords gun control, along with his wife and former U.S. Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, for who the group is named. It is his organization that would be at the point of enacting a gun control agenda and it would be a favor that President Biden would likely call in later.

Untrustworthy

President Biden made a show of talking up Chipman’s 25 years as an ATF agent. The president didn’t explain that those years weren’t without lingering questions. Chipman was “case agent in [the] Branch Davidian trial” while stationed in Waco, Texas, from 1993 to 1998. Chipman reportedly claimed Branch Davidians downed two helicopters with .50-caliber rounds during the 51-day siege. A U.S House of Representatives report indicated that no helicopters were downed or any crew hurt.

A photo published in The Daily Mail [supposedly] shows [there is no confirmation that the photo is of Chipman] Chipman standing in front of the smoldering remains of the burned compound, holding a rifle and wearing camouflaged clothes. In the background [of that photo] is the skull of one of the 76 men, women, and children killed in the botched raid. It is important to note, these were Americans, some innocent children.

Chipman’s antipathy wasn’t limited to Waco. He derided the 8.4 million first-time gun buyers who purchased a firearm last year for self-protection during the pandemic. Chipman dismissed the buyers as fearful and preparing “for end times scenarios and zombie apocalypses.”

“If you didn’t think you needed a gun prior to March of this year, you certainly don’t need to rush out and get one now,” Chipman added.

He said new gun owners “might think they are die-hard, ready-to-go, but unfortunately, they’re more like Tiger King and they’re putting themselves and their families in danger.”

“Secure that gun, locked and unloaded and hide it behind the cans of tuna and beef jerky that you have stored in a cabinet and only bring that out if the zombies start to appear,” he said.

Only in President Biden’s mind, are these statements somehow better than “Beto” O’Rourke’s “Hell Yes” announcement on wanting to confiscate 20 million MSRs.

ATF deserves a leader, not a former gun control lobbyist with a political agenda. The Senate must reject this nomination.


About The National Shooting Sports Foundation

NSSF is the trade association for the firearm industry. Its mission is to promote, protect and preserve hunting and shooting sports. Formed in 1961, NSSF has a membership of thousands of manufacturers, distributors, firearm retailers, shooting ranges, sportsmen’s organizations, and publishers nationwide. For more information, visit nssf.org

National Shooting Sports Foundation

37 Comments
Most Voted
Newest Oldest
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
APG member

No, the ATF does not “deserve a leader” it should be abolished. It is unnecessary IN A FREE SOCIETY, and if you read the anachronistic Constitution it is unauthorized…


Last edited 2 years ago by APG member
Frdmftr

One quibble: The ATF does not deserve a “leader”; the ATF deserves to be abolished as an illegal government agency enforcing regulations not authorized, and specifically prohibited, by the United States Constitution Amendments II, IV, V, IX, and X. And the Brady Act deserves to be abolished for the same reasons.

Henry Bowman

All gun control laws are INFRINGEMENTS. Repeal & abolish!

nrringlee

OK, let me clarify this issue for you all. I gave the oath of enlistment to thousands of young people who were enlisting or reenlisting in our Armed Forces. They had to swear to uphold and defend the Constitution. Chipman cannot take that oath in good conscience. End of story.

GomeznSA

nr – chip likely did take that oath – some form of it at least, last time I checked a person had to do so to become a fed LEO of any type. Problem is, there are far too many of them (and most all of the political types) who simply do not follow that oath. Like most all that lean left, they think that they are above such ‘trivialities’ – after all they are smarter than us deplorables and are only looking out for our best interests……………..

Green Mtn. Boy

He is at the very least a Marxist scum bucket .

Stag

“The nomination of Chipman is a troubling reversal of years of proactive safety cooperation between ATF and our industry.” There is no “cooperation”. The industry does as it’s told under threat of force. You do as you’re told or you will be extorted, kidnapped, and/or murdered. “It is also a reckless betrayal of the brave men and women of the ATF who have a difficult enough job without the politicization of the ATF.” There’s nothing brave about choosing a profession where your sole purpose is to violate rights. The NSSF proves once again it is only opposed to Democrat nominated… Read more »

Stag

It’s been that way under every president.

Happy Everafter

Just curious, but has anyone determined who is really running the country? Who is deciding which communist is nominated for which position?

Jonesy

Damn Good Question !!

nrringlee

Well, I would point to Beijing as a hint as to who is really running this country now. Communist Chinese Collusion. They own the Biden Crime Cartel. Follow the money.

snowmaker

OBAMA is running the country in his third term as ‘the president in sweatpants’ behind the scene making all the moves and coordination. Biden is a ‘front man’ (quotes intended). he was calling the shots on russia collusion, sc justice cavanaugh, impeachment, the virus thing that started the day after Pres. Trump was not recalled, then the election. he’s got the ear of all the media moguls to do his bidding, the big tech oligarchs, the socialist oligarchs and foreign leaders, sorry if i seem redundant. OBiden won’t make it past the day OHarris can easily be elected for two… Read more »

crazy joe

who do you think controlled Obastard

Dee

You freaking crazy for real Joe. We need to “Red Flag” yo A$$!!!

Tionico

I’ve just been calling him thekinyun since he was the junior senator from Illinois. Nuttin’s chainged…. and I’m quite certain there is a heavy guage chain conecting HIS sorry backside to the Clinton Dynasty.

GomeznSA

Tio – they are all likely joined by massive chains – have you ever seen the familial connections between all of the upper level dems? Like who hillz junior (chelsea and not manning) is married to for one example. I don’t know if there is any one single person who is jerking those chains though. I suspect that there is likely a group of them.

Dee

I actually wanted Barack elected for 2 more terms. I actually bought less firearms under his presidency than Trump. And it wasn’t because I could get them. I didn’t think I needed them until Trump got in office. You guys got to cut the Qanon thinking BS or no one will take you serious. I wouldn’t mind both Obamas as Justices. I got more in the fight than just guns!!!

Dee

??? Whatever that supposed to mean?

GomeznSA

snow – barky may very well be pulling slow joe’s strings but we need to find out who is pulling his………………..

PMinFl

THE CENTRAL COMITTEE

Bobocat

Chipman is unqualified, that means he will get the job. He is dogmatic towards guns and the constitution and that will qualify him.

PMinFl

Chipmunk is our enemy.

Laddyboy

The ILLEGALLY APPOINTED “BIG MAN” by FRAUDULENT vote counting and manipulation has one goal. He has been told by his DemoKKKrat National Communist party handlers to appoint every Anti-American Sycophant he is TOLD.
.
WHY IS NO REPUBLICAN STARTING THE IMPEACHMENT PROCEEDURES?!?!?!?!?!

APG member

BECAUSE REPUBLICANS WANT TO DISARM YOU!!!!WAKE UP AND SMELL THE CONCRETE!!! George Bush Senior renounced his NRA life membership when the NRA called the ATF a bad word…

Henry Bowman

The Bush crime family are globalist traitors, and most GOP are RINOs. Not all Republicans are traitors, or antigun. Rand Paul, for instance.

Henry Bowman

Well now that just BLOWS. That recent surgery musta been botched, and they removed his brain instead of that bad lung.

JSNMGC

As you pointed out, he’s about as good as they get, but . . .

He also endorsed Cynthia Lummis for Senator. She appears to be fairly establishment, but we will see.

Henry Bowman

On second look:

He said he’d ONLY support legislation IF it had REAL due process and violated NO rights at all…

So this was really just a word salad. He isn’t caving… this is not the RINO you’re actually looking for.

JSNMGC

Not looking for any RINOs. We already have a process for people who have been adjudicated to have a mental illness that that is likely to result in them being a danger to others or themselves. Red flag laws, including the type Rand indicated support for, take the guns first and allow for due process second. If the person is so dangerous that due process has to be thrown out the window before their property is seized, the people should be immediately taken into custody and evaulated by mental health professionals before they are released. Why take their firearms and… Read more »

Henry Bowman

That is not what Rand Paul said in the article. You’re conflating this with what Trump said… yuo better read that article more closely. Good night.

JSNMGC

“I’m not opposed to sort of an emergency order for 48 hours and then you get a hearing in a court where you get the full due-process protections,” he said.

I believe he meant take the guns, but the person must be allowed an opportunity to contest the seizure within 48 hours.

I don’t think that is a good idea – too low of a bar to take the guns. If the person is that dangersous, take them into custody and have them properly evaluated.

JSNMGC

Will – 4/13/21

“Henry,the moron probably got his info from one of his links! The kid is consistent though always wrong!”

Respsonse to Will:

Your avoidance of information continues to entertain.

Bob

Probably because with peloSSi in charge of the house, the Republicans won’t be able to impeach the sob.

JPM

This is a prime example of the two-faced hypocrisy of the NSSF and their support of ONLY Fudds, firearms manufacturers and their members and their own profits over the 2nd Amendment rights of all citizens. NSSF has consistently supported illegal and unconstitutional actions of the BATFE and this article is a classic example of their ass-kissing of the BATFE. The author’s statement, referring to the murderous, incompetent cowardly thugs of the BATFE as “…the brave men and women of the ATF…” says it all.

Bryan Hinnen

Your comment displays a shocking lack of respect for gun owners (“Fudds”). Not sure what you mean by “BATFE.” Nominating Chipman is literally nominating the fox to watch the henhouse. Biden’s basically a nice old guy. Pervy Uncle Joe. He gets a little creepy around women and 12-year-old girls. He seems to view the presidency as a four-year stay at a nice resort, where he can let the staff handle everything and all he has to do is sign for it. The staff, in this case, is a bunch of Marxist nutballs. They’re the ones who are actually running the… Read more »

Arny

No worries. Just make sure you pay your taxes so they can trample on your God given rights. They got to live too.