{"id":400337,"date":"2021-04-08T14:28:24","date_gmt":"2021-04-08T18:28:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=400337"},"modified":"2021-04-08T14:28:27","modified_gmt":"2021-04-08T18:28:27","slug":"bidens-pick-for-atf-director-has-a-questionable-past-that-deserves-a-second-look","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bidens-pick-for-atf-director-has-a-questionable-past-that-deserves-a-second-look\/","title":{"rendered":"Biden\u2019s Pick For ATF Director Has A Questionable Past That Deserves A Second Look"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">28<\/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%2Fbidens-pick-for-atf-director-has-a-questionable-past-that-deserves-a-second-look%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=400337&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--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/fb_image-944.jpeg?w=1200&amp;h=800&amp;ixlib=react-9.0.3\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" \/><\/div>\n<p>President Joe Biden\u2019s pick to serve as Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), David Chipman, is a known gun control activist. Not only has Chipman repeatedly worked to strip Americans of their Second Amendment rights, but he also played a role in the Waco, Texas massacre, among other things.<\/p>\n<p>As <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/breaking-biden-announces-executive-order-crackdown-on-guns-new-anti-gun-atf-director\">The Daily Wire<\/a> reported, \u201cChipman worked at Giffords, which advocates for gun bans. CNN&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/giffords.org\/lawcenter\/gun-laws\/policy-areas\/hardware-ammunition\/assault-weapons\/\">called<\/a> Chipman a \u2018fierce advocate for gun control.\u2019 Chipman locked his Twitter account so people cannot see what he has stated publicly, however, a comparison of online archives to his current account appears to show that he has deleted well over 1,000 tweets.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Waco, Texas<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In addition to working at Giffords, the gun control group former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) and her husband Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) launched, Chipman worked for the ATF SWAT team and served as Special Agent in Charge of ATF\u2019s Firearms Programs.<\/p>\n<p>The<a href=\"https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/116\/meeting\/house\/110001\/witnesses\/HHRG-116-JU00-Bio-ChipmanD-20190925.pdf\"> resume<\/a> Chipman provided to Congress shows he worked on the Branch Davidian trial. The ATF was interested in the religious cult for stockpiling illegal firearms. When the ATF went to seize the firearms and arrest cult leader David Koresh, a 51-day standoff took place.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDuring this time, negotiators arranged for the release of 35 Branch Davidians, including 21 children. But on April 19, 1993, in an attempt to lure Koresh and his followers out, agents took decisive action that critics later called extreme or unwarranted: They rammed the building with tanks and launched a tear-gas assault,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.history.com\/news\/waco-siege-what-happened-little-known-facts\">The History Channel<\/a> said in an overview of the events. \u201cThe structure caught fire (the cause of the fire is still debated), and 76 Branch Davidians\u2014which included 28 children\u2014died in the flames.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>There is a fairly common consensus amongst Americans that what took place in Waco, Texas was wrong. Innocent people \u2013 including children \u2013 died because the government was focused more on the cult\u2019s illegal firearms than they were preserving human life.<\/p>\n<p>But Chipman defended the ATF and what took place. Last year, he conducted a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/politics\/comments\/d285va\/comment\/eztgy6d\">Reddit Ask Me Anything (AMA)<\/a> on \u201cgun violence,\u201d where users can ask questions pertaining to the topic. What\u2019s amazing is he denied ATF accountability for any of the wrongdoing that took place in Waco.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt Waco, cult members used 2 .50 caliber Barretts to shoot down two Texas Air National Guard helicopters,\u201d Chipman falsely claimed in a pinned comment on Reddit. \u201cPoint, it is true we are fortunate they are not used in crime more often. The victims of drug lords in Mexico are not so lucky. America plays a role in fueling the violence south of the border.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\" readability=\"7.0140845070423\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Biden&#8217;s pick for ATF thinks the Branch Davidians at Waco shot down two government helicopters. (HT <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/LPTexas?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@LPTexas<\/a>). From a Reddit AMA last year. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/EygNk7jFrf\">pic.twitter.com\/EygNk7jFrf<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/redsteeze\/status\/1380148877001584645?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 8, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><strong>Rules for thee but not for me<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In the same AMA, Chipman called for a ban on the production and sale of so-called \u201cassault weapons.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt has been estimated that there are around 15 million assault rifles currently in circulation. I believe we should ban the future production and sale to civilians and afford current owners of these firearms the ability to license these particularly [sic] guns with ATF under the National Firearms Act,\u201d he wrote in the thread.<\/p>\n<p>What\u2019s interesting is Chipman is calling for an assault weapons ban even though he recognized those particular firearms are not responsible for the majority of crimes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cClearly AR-15s play an outsized role in mass shootings. You are correct in suggesting they are not driving the majority of gun crimes in America,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n<p>He also said he supports background checks at gun dealers, which is already federal law, and Extreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPOs), commonly referred to as \u201cRed Flag Laws.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cERPOs (red flag) laws in 17 states and states that require licensing appear to prevent gun crime,\u201d Chipman wrote. \u201cBased on my time at ATF, requiring a background check for every gun sale at a licensed gun dealer would have the biggest impact on gun violence and largely disrupt interstate firearms trafficking.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t believe it\u2019s fair to criticize laws riddled with loopholes as unenforceable. Look at background checks for example. You perhaps would claim they don\u2019t work,\u201d he said in the thread. \u201cIn my experience, they don\u2019t work because they\u2019re limited to gun stores when you can go on the internet to arrange a private sale without a background check at all. Criminals know this.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While Chipman is calling for gun control laws that would harm average Americans, he admits he enjoys having a firearm for self-protection.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor the general public, seeing a gun out in public is a little frightening. To me, living in fear is a harm that we should avoid. When I carry I make sure it\u2019s concealed,\u201d he wrote. \u201cI\u2019m not trying to make some statement.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>COVID lockdowns<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>When the coronavirus pandemic began in early 2020, Chipman advocated for gun stores to close and not be deemed an \u201cessential business.\u201d The Trump administration ended up <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/us-health-coronavirus-usa-guns\/trump-coronavirus-guidance-on-keeping-gun-stores-open-draws-criticism-idUSKBN21H37L\">issuing a guidance<\/a> saying gun stores <em>are&nbsp;<\/em>an essential business. Chipman, however, told <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/coronavirus-gun-sales-ammo-covid19-1493391\">Newsweek<\/a> that first-time gun owners making purchases during the COVID lockdowns could be problematic.<\/p>\n<blockquote readability=\"20\">\n<p><em>\u201cAs a gun owner myself, I get how people instinctively think about their personal safety and that of their family.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cWhat concerns me most is not the responsible gun owners who decide to pick up a couple more boxes of ammo but the person who has never handled a gun buying an AR-15 who plans to bring a weapon of war into their home untrained and is already under an extraordinary amount of stress. It\u2019s adding gasoline to a fire.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cMy fear is that in a race to protect themselves from this pandemic, some people might be bringing a different danger right through their front door.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u2026<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cIf you care about your family, spend the $500 on groceries and stronger dead bolts for the exterior doors of your home.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Based on his activist past, placing him in the ATF role likely means sweeping gun control legislation is likely. And, if Congress fails to pass the anti-Second Amendment legislation the White House wants to see \u2014 like universal background checks and an assault weapons ban \u2014 Chipman can step in and make regulatory decisions that place limitations on people\u2019s right to keep and bear arms. It\u2019s a way for the Biden administration to circumvent Congress without the president having to sign <em>even mor<\/em>e executive orders.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><i>The views expressed in this opinion piece are the author\u2019s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.<\/i><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><i>The Daily Wire is one of America\u2019s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a&nbsp;<\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/subscribe\"><span class=\"s1\"><i>member<\/i><\/span><\/a><i>.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>President Joe Biden\u2019s pick to serve as Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), David Chipman, is a known gun control activist. Not only has Chipman &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2311872,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/fb_image-944.jpeg?w=1200&h=800&ixlib=react-9.0.3","fifu_image_alt":"Biden\u2019s Pick For ATF Director Has A Questionable Past That Deserves A Second Look","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-400337","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/fb_image-944.jpeg?w=1200&h=800&ixlib=react-9.0.3","fifu_image_alt":"Biden\u2019s Pick For ATF Director Has A Questionable Past That Deserves A Second Look","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/400337","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\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=400337"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/400337\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2311872"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=400337"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=400337"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=400337"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}