Biden pick for ATF opposed by 20 Republican AGs over his views on weapons, ties to gun control groups

Attorneys general from 20 states sent a letter to the Senate on Tuesday, calling on lawmakers to reject David Chipman, President Biden’s nominee for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), over his affiliations with gun control organizations. 

"The Second Amendment is the cornerstone of the Bill of Rights," the letter, sent to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Sen. Chuck Grassley and Sen. Dick Durbin, opened. "It guarantees our natural God-given right to defend our lives, our families, our property, and our freedom. The confirmation of David Chipman to head the Department of Justice’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives ("ATF") is an attack on that right and on the millions of law-abiding gun owners across the country."

The GOP attorneys general, led by Montana’s Austin Knudsen, claimed Chipman was "unfit" to lead the agency because of his "extreme positions on commonly owned firearms" and involvement with "anti-gun organizations."

Chipman is a 25-year veteran of the agency and currently works as a policy adviser at Giffords, a gun-control advocacy group, according to NPR. The organization was founded by former Democratic U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords, who was shot in the head in 2011, and her husband, U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz.