Ted Cruz grilled Biden’s ATF appointee this morning, who admitted he wants to ban AR-15s and that he wants the federal government to regulate other guns as well:
Here’s more from Fox News:
President Biden’s nominee to head the Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) bureau, David Chipman, said during Wednesday that he is in favor of a ban on AR-15 rifles.
“With respect to the AR-15, I support a ban as has been presented in a senate bill and supported by the president,” Chipman told Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas. Cruz said the AR-15 was “one of, if not the, most popular rifle in America.
“The AR-15 is a gun I was issued on the ATF’s SWAT team, and it’s a particularly lethal weapon. Regulating it as other particularly lethal weapons, I have advocated for. As ATF director, if I’m confirmed, I would simply enforce the laws on the books, and right now there is no such ban on those guns.”
Chipman was an ATF special agent for 25 years and currently serves as senior policy adviser to gun violence prevention group Giffords.
Chipman said he supports Congress acting to ban all “assault weapons” and AR-15s. He said he would support adding such weapons already in circulation to the National Firearms Act, which requires registration and a tax stamp, among other restrictions.
Pressed by Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., to define “assault weapon,” Chipman said that was up to Congress. But Cotton asked Chipman how he personally would define the term. Chipman said the only definition he could recall ever being used by the ATF was “any semi-automatic rifle capable of accepting a detachable magazine above the caliber of .22, which would include the .223 which is largely the AR-15 round.”
Let me highlight the exchange between Cruz and Chipman that is the most concerning:
CRUZ: So you also said when you and I talked yesterday in the office that Senator Feinstein’s (2013) bill, which a supermajority of Senators voted against in a Democratic Senate – you said that bill didn’t go far enough and you wanted an even broader ban, to ban… You said it didn’t go far enough, is that right?
CHIPMAN: Senator thanks for that question and the ability to clarify. What I did say is that Senator Feinstein’s bill did not address those firearms that are currently in the possession of Americans. And then I did share with you my view as an advocate, which would be quite different than someone actually enforcing the law on the books, that those firearms could be treated under the NFA and regulated that way, which would deal with those currently in the possession of Americans.”
CRUZ: So when you say it didn’t go far enough, you mean that you don’t just want to ban the manufacture of those rifles. You don’t just want to make it illegal to sell those rifles, but you want to actively have government go after the people who currently possess firearms. And if they don’t register and submit to all of the onerous restrictions of the National Firearms Act, presumably confiscate their weapons?
CHIPMAN: Senator what I have said publicly, as an advocate, is that I prefer a system where the AR-15 and other assault weapons are regulated under the National Firearms Act.
Ted Cruz is exactly right about his conclusion on Chipman pushing for gun confiscation, because that’s exactly what this gun grabber will advocate for as the ATF Director. And don’t tell me he won’t be an ‘advocate’ while serving as the ATF Director. It’s baloney for him to suggest he’ll only enforce the laws on the books. No, he will be called upon by Democrats to weigh in on the issue and his gun-grabbing opinion will be touted by Democrats as credible and they’ll use that to try and take away your firearms. Chipman is just another version of Beto O’Rourke!