A number of the key moderate Democrat Senators needed to confirm President Joe Biden’s ATF pick David Chipman are still undecided due to the gun control proponents’ long history of questionable comments about guns, gun owners, and the enforcement of gun laws.
So far every member of Biden’s cabinet that there has been a vote on has been confirmed, though Neera Tanden had to withdraw her nomination for OMB director because she wouldn’t have been. That makes Chipman the first person likely not to survive a Senate vote (unless he too withdraws).
On the Republican side Chipman faces opposition from all of them, including Susan Collins, who voiced her intent to vote for “many” of Biden’s nominees, but specifically voiced opposition to the “unusually divisive” Chipman.
According to Fox News:
There is a significant chance Chipman’s nomination could come down to a handful of Democrats, like Sen. John Tester of Montana.
“As a proud gun owner, Sen. Tester believes ATF needs a strong leader to support the agency’s law enforcement mission,” Tester communications director Sarah Feldman told Fox News. “Sen. Tester will continue to review David Chipman’s record and testimony to ensure he would support our brave law enforcement officers and respect Montanans’ Second Amendment rights.”
Several other moderate Democrats from red or purple states haven’t taken public stances on the nomination and did not reply to inquiries from Fox News about where they stand on Chipman. This group includes Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., and Angus King, I-Maine.
Manchin was asked about Chipman’s nomination last month and acknowledged that “there’s a lot of controversy,” according to Politico. “I really am undecided,” he said.
Among the policies Chipman has endorsed include a ban on all ammunition magazines holding more than 10 rounds, with some federal courts have already struck down. He acknowledged that the 10 round threshold is arbitrary and it won’t reduce mass shootings. He’s also called for banning the AR-15 and gun registration, and is no fan of so-called “assault weapons,” though he struggles to define them.
He has contempt for gun owners, infamously mocking “…the people who hoarded guns might decide six months from now—once they see no zombies around but they’ve run out of tuna and beef jerky—that they need the money to buy food.” They might also need protection from the insane “defund the police” policies many in Biden’s administration support.
Matt Palumbo is the author of Dumb and Dumber: How Cuomo and de Blasio Ruined New York, Debunk This: Shattering Liberal Lies, and Spygate
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