{"id":1492901,"date":"2022-05-26T11:15:03","date_gmt":"2022-05-26T15:15:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1492901"},"modified":"2022-05-26T11:15:06","modified_gmt":"2022-05-26T15:15:06","slug":"biden-atf-director-cant-say-what-an-assault-weapon-is","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-atf-director-cant-say-what-an-assault-weapon-is\/","title":{"rendered":"Biden ATF Director Can\u2019t Say What an \u201cAssault Weapon\u201d Is"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fbiden-atf-director-cant-say-what-an-assault-weapon-is%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1492901&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/t-senate\">Senate<\/a> Judiciary Committee on May 25 met to consider the nomination of Steven Dettelbach to be director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, and Tobacco (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/t-atf\">ATF<\/a>), leading to a tense exchange between Dettelbach and Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) over the definition of an \u201cassault weapon.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The meeting comes in the wake of a school shooting in Ulvada, Texas, that left at least 19 dead, sparking renewed cries among Democrats for stricter federal gun control legislation.<\/p>\n<p>In its 50-year history, the ATF has had recurring difficulties in getting Senate confirmation for appointed directors, with only one nominee\u2014B. Todd Jones, appointed by President Barack Obama\u2014ever being confirmed by the Senate.<\/p>\n<p>In September 2021, President Joe Biden was forced to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/gun-control-advocate-david-chipman-withdrawn-from-atf-nomination_3989325.html\">withdraw the nomination of his first pick for ATF director<\/a>\u2014David Chipman\u2014after Chipman proved too controversial even for some Democrats. In the absence of a Senate-confirmed ATF head, the agency has for decades been run by non-confirmed acting directors.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI vow, if I\u2019m given the privilege of serving as director, to partner with others to advance the cause of public safety, and to approach that task\u2014especially here and now\u2014with an open heart, with open ears, and with an open mind,\u201d Dettelbach concluded his opening remarks.<\/p>\n<p>Reviving a common GOP line of questioning for would-be gun regulators, Sen. Cotton during his questioning of Dettelbach asked for a definition of the word \u201cassault weapon,\u201d a catch-all term often used by gun control advocates but which many have difficulty defining.<\/p>\n<p>Citing a 2018 campaign Dettelbach mounted to become attorney general of Ohio, Cotton noted \u201cyou called for a ban on \u2018assault weapons.\u2019 What is an \u2018assault weapon,\u2019 could you define it for me?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSenator, when I was a candidate for office I did talk about restrictions on assault weapons, I did not define the term and I haven\u2019t gone through the process of defining that term,\u201d Dettelbach admitted.<\/p>\n<p>He continued, \u201cThat would only be for the Congress\u2014if it chose to take that up\u2014to do, and if you chose to take it up, I would be at the ATF and there\u2019s perhaps expertise or data we could give you so you could make the appropriate decision to both protect the public and protect the Second Amendment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo you\u2019re running for public office and you called for a ban on assault weapons but you don\u2019t have a definition for assault weapons?\u201d Cotton asked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSenator, it would only be for a legislative body\u2014whether it was the Ohio legislature or the Congress\u2014it would only be for a legislative body to do that work, and I acknowledge that that would be a difficult task to define assault weapons because, on the one hand, you don\u2019t want it to be so narrow that it doesn\u2019t offer the protections that are intended, and on the other hand you don\u2019t want it to be so broad that it infringes unnecessarily on the rights of citizens,\u201d Dettelbach responded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI acknowledge that that\u2019s a difficult task but it would be for this body to do, not for me,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy is it so hard to define assault weapons?\u201d Cotton asked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWell, I think senator, it\u2019s what I told you which\u2014it\u2019s you don\u2019t want to be so narrow as to be meaningless and you don\u2019t want to be so broad as to infringe on the rights of law-abiding Americans unnecessarily,\u201d Dettelbach responded.<\/p>\n<p>Pushing further, Cotton argued that while various types of firearms exist\u2014ranging from pistols to shotguns to rifles\u2014there is no category clearly defined as an \u201cassault weapon.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCan you go into a federally-licensed firearm dealer and find a category of weapons on the wall labeled as \u2018assault weapons?&#8217;\u201d Cotton asked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t believe that\u2019s a category of weapons that\u2019s labeled on the wall of retailers\u2014it\u2019s not necessarily what retailers call it that would affect the decision of a legislative body but, no, in answer to your question,\u201d Dettelbach responded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s what politicians and lawyers in Washington call it,\u201d Cotton retorted.<\/p>\n<p>During the hearing, several Democrats took the opportunity to push for stricter gun control laws in the wake of the Texas shooting.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou come here at a moment of extraordinary anguish, anxiety, and anger in this country,\u201d Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) told Dettelbach. \u201cAnd I believe that we must move forward with gun violence prevention reforms that make our laws more effective and give you more tools you need in saving communities and individuals.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI believe in the Second Amendment,\u201d Blumenthal insisted. \u201cIt\u2019s the law of the land. There are measures we can take that are consistent with the Second Amendment that will separate people from firearms if they are dangerous to themselves or others\u2014red flag statutes, background checks, safe storage \u2026 ghost gun bans, and others.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Blumenthal called for the Senate \u201cto seize this moment of extraordinary challenge \u2026 to make sure you have a mandate from the United States Congress to do your job.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re the only civilized nation on earth that watches our citizens, our children, get gunned down and does nothing to prevent it from happening again,\u201d said Senate president pro tempore Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) in an impassioned statement.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re cowards if we don\u2019t act, cowards!\u201d Leahy added.<\/p>\n<p>Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), against many in his party, rejected efforts to tie the ATF nomination to the Texas shooting.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t think the shooting in Texas has anything to do with the ATF nominee,\u201d Tester told reporters.<\/p>\n<p>Some Republicans, by contrast, attributed the Texas shooting and other shooting to causes beyond the availability of firearms.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor far too long [we\u2019ve] failed to look back at the root causes of rampage violence,\u201d Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cQuestions involving things like \u2018Why is our culture suddenly producing so many young men who wanna murder innocent people?\u2019 It raises questions like, could things like fatherlessness, isolation from families, the breakdown of civil society or the glorification of violence be contributing factors?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut instead the left once again is calling for more gun control. They wanna crack down on law abiding Americans and federal firearms licensees who wanna follow the law instead of armed criminals.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Lee also blasted gun control groups like the Brady Campaign for \u201c[wasting] no time in trying to profit off of this tragedy,\u201d noting that immediately following news of the shooting several gun control groups sent out emails asking for donations to \u201cplay off of [peoples\u2019] emotions\u201d about the shooting.<\/p>\n<p>Despite his party\u2019s calls for a doomed test vote on a gun control bill to show where Republicans stand, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JakeSherman\/status\/1529474355478003716\">in a May 25 statement<\/a> that there would be no such vote. Instead, Schumer called for Americans to vote Democrat in November for more wide-reaching gun control legislation.<\/p>\n<p>To be confirmed, Dettelbach will need to prove more popular with several moderate Democrats than Biden\u2019s previous nominee.<\/p>\n<p>In September,\u00a0controversy surrounding Chipman fractured the Democratic unity needed for a confirmation. Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W. Va.), along with moderate Sens. Angus King (I-Maine) and Jon Tester (D-Mont.) signaled strong skepticism toward the nominee.<\/p>\n<p>It remains unclear whether these moderates will feel more confident in Dettelbach. Because the Senate is evenly-divided, a single defection would cause Dettelbach\u2019s nomination to fail, leaving the ATF without a Senate-confirmed director.<\/p>\n<div class=\"author_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"one_author_block round\">\n<div class=\"top_row\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/author-joseph-lord\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Follow<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Joseph Lord is a congressional reporter for The Epoch Times.\n<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Senate Judiciary Committee on May 25 met to consider the nomination of Steven Dettelbach to be director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, and Tobacco (ATF), leading to a<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":498,"featured_media":1892085,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1492901","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1492901","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/498"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1492901"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1492901\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1892085"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1492901"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1492901"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1492901"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}