Washington, D.C. – The Biden Administration is facing increased pressure this week to pull the nomination of anti-Second Amendment activist David Chipman as Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF). The pressure comes thanks to Independent Maine Senator Angus King who has signaled to his Senate colleagues that he currently opposes the nomination.
King recognizes that Chipman’s appointment would greatly impact the gun owners and sportsmen and women of his state. However, his next-door neighbor, New Hampshire Senator Maggie Hassan (who claims to be a moderate, independent Senator), has said she will support the nomination over the concerns of gun-owning Granite Staters.
David Chipman has long supported restricting gun ownership and signaled in a recent Senate hearing that he would ban every modern sporting rifle. Mark Oliva, Director of Public Affairs for the National Shooting Sports Foundation, said that gun control groups “would have howled if President Trump nominated someone from the firearm industry to run the ATF during his term in office.” Chipman’s nomination is the equivalent for the gun control lobby.
New Hampshire has some of the best hunting in the country and a proud history of responsible gun ownership. It is part of the reason that the New Hampshire House of Representatives recently reaffirmed the state’s independence from federal gun laws. Unfortunately, the state’s junior Senator does not care and seeks to place an anti-Second Amendment radical atop the ATF.
Statement from NRSC Spokesman T.W. Arrighi: “When Maine’s Angus King is looking out for gun ownership rights more than you, it’s clear that you are horribly detached from the opinions of Granite Staters. Maggie Hassan is supporting David Chipman’s nomination because she does not believe in the Second Amendment. She supports Chipman’s push to make radical changes to gun laws that will greatly impact outdoorsmen and women across New Hampshire and punish responsible gun owners. Positioning yourself to the Left of Angus King on guns will not fly with New Hampshire voters.”
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