Biden’s A.T.F. Pick Reiterates Support for AR-15 Restrictions

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David Chipman, President Biden’s nominee to lead the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, announced his support for a proposed ban on AR-15-style rifles during his Senate confirmation hearing Wednesday.

“The leadership positions I held at A.T.F. grounded me in what it will take to improve bureau operations and morale. I’ve supervised agents in the field multiple times. I use that experience to develop new approaches to combat homicides committed with firearms impacting communities across the United States. While at A.T.F. headquarters during the Bush administration, I was responsible for all A.T.F. field policies and procedures. I later oversaw all firearms programs and foreign offices for the entire bureau. These experiences, hard won over the course of decades, will serve as my guide if I’m confirmed to lead the A.T.F. The bureau has excelled at investigating crimes since the days of Eliot Ness. My leadership mission will be to sharpen A.T.F.’s focus while striving to prevent more violent crimes from occurring in the first place.” “The AR-15 is one of, if not the most popular rifle in America. It’s not a machine gun, it’s a rifle. Your public position is that you want to ban AR-15s, is that correct?” “With respect to the AR-15, I support a ban as has been presented in a Senate bill and supported by the president. The AR-15 is a gun I was issued on A.T.F. SWAT team. And it’s a particularly lethal weapon, and regulating it as other particularly lethal weapons, I have advocated for. As A.T.F. director, if I’m confirmed, I would simply enforce the laws on the books. And right now, there is no such ban on those guns.”

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