President Joe Biden is reportedly set to nominate a former federal agent and staunch gun control activist to helm the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.
The president on Thursday is expected to tap David Chipman, who served as a special agent for the ATF for 25 years, according to the Associated Press, which cited someone familiar with the matter.
Chipman is listed as a senior policy adviser to the gun control group, Giffords, which was founded by former Democratic Rep. Gabby Giffords. Chipman was named special agent in charge of the ATF’s firearms programs, and he was a member of the agency’s version of a SWAT team.
The administration’s announcement is expected to coincide with a slew of executive orders pertaining to firearms as the president is said to call on his cohort to require buyers of so-called “ghost guns,” or homemade firearms without serial numbers, to face background checks. He will be joined by Attorney General Merrick Garland at the event.
BIDEN WILL HAVE ‘MORE TO SAY’ ON GUNS THURSDAY, WHITE HOUSE SAYS
Other actions are not yet known, but in a letter last week, House Democrats asked Biden to act on “concealable assault-style” firearms. The group of Democratic lawmakers demanded the president place the guns under the National Firearms Act, a move that would make the sale and transfer of the firearms in question more of a hassle.
The NFA tightly regulates short-barreled rifles, which are long guns with a barrel length shorter than 16 inches. In order to buy one, a person must register that firearm with the ATF and pay a $200 tax. Gun manufacturers for years have been selling guns that have barrel lengths shorter than 16 inches, but they are equipped with pistol braces, which allow a shooter to stabilize his or her arm while firing, making the gun a handgun in the eyes of the ATF. This helps to avoid the registration hassle and fee to obtain a similar firearm.
The alleged gunman behind the supermarket shooting last month that killed 10 people, including one police officer, in Boulder, Colorado, Ahmad al Aliwi Alissa, 21, bought a Ruger AR-15-style pistol with a 10.5-inch barrel days before the attack, according to court documents. This spurred renewed calls for reform from the lawmakers.
The Gun Owners of America, one of the largest pro-Second Amendment groups in the country, slammed Biden’s potential moves on guns and vowed legal action if they come to fruition.
“After sitting on his hands for more than a year while rioters destroyed American cities, Joe Biden is now blaming innocent gun owners for the destructive acts of criminals,” GOA Senior Vice President Erich Pratt told the Washington Examiner. “Biden’s press statement references the ‘historic spike in homicides’ as justification for his executive actions. But all he can offer are failed gun control restrictions that never make anyone safer, and only violate the constitutional rights of American citizens. Gun Owners of America will challenge the Biden administration at every step, including legal action if these regulations go into effect.”
Biden previously signaled a willingness to expand gun control measures at the federal level. The White House said in recent days that the president would sign an executive order designed to curb gun violence in the wake of the Boulder shooting.
“Yes,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said when asked by a reporter about the possibility. “I can’t give you an exact time frame, in part, because they have to go through a review process, which is something that we do from here.”
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Neither Giffords nor the White House immediately responded to requests for comment from the Washington Examiner.
