The Patriot Post® · White House Pulls Anti-Gun ATF Nominee

Joe Biden’s attempt to sneak in an anti-gun lobbyist to head the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives has failed, as the White House announced it is pulling the nomination of David Chipman.

Of course, the Biden administration sought to pin the blame entirely on Republicans, stating:

Unfortunately, Republicans in Congress have made clear that they intend to use gun crime as a political talking point instead of taking serious steps to address it. That’s why they’ve moved in lockstep to block David Chipman’s confirmation, and it’s why they side with gun manufacturers over the overwhelming majority of the American people in opposing commonsense measures like universal background checks.

However, the fact of the matter is that the White House pulled Chipman because several Democrat lawmakers weren’t on board, and for several reasons beyond his anti-gun views.

For one thing, Chipman was exposed for being an anti-firearm lobbyist who had no interest in protecting Americans’ Second Amendment rights, even mocking people for purchasing their first firearms during the pandemic lockdown. Not only that, but it also came to light that he holds negative views regarding Americans’ First Amendment rights to free of speech.

In 2019 Chipman groused: “The frustration is, in the United States, the freedom of speech and to say things is largely — cannot be regulated. We have to do more to monitor hate speech on the Internet. But we also have to do more to curb that same speech being presented by our president and other elected public officials.”

Chipman further asserted, “The FBI [and] other federal agencies have a tough job responding to these threats when they don’t currently have the authority to remove weaponry just because people are saying hateful things.” That comment is a red flag about red flag laws.

It was also discovered that Chipman had deleted thousands of past social media posts and failed to disclose several previous interviews and activities. And what may have been the final nail in the coffin was a whistleblower report alleging that Chipman “has exhibited a pattern of extremely concerning racially biased behavior” during his time at the ATF. That includes reports of Chipman filing a DOJ complaint that Senator Chuck Grassley says triggered “an unwarranted investigation into an African American employee who he alleged, without evidence, cheated on an exam to become a GS-15.”

Senator Tom Cotton aptly responded to the White House’s announcement: “David Chipman is an unhinged gun-grabber. His defeat is a win for the Constitution — and a crushing loss for Joe Biden.” It’s not as if anyone Biden nominates will be a defender of gun rights, but, for now, Liberty-loving Americans dodged this Second Amendment-threatening bullet.