West Virginia Attorney General issued the following announcement on Sept. 9.
West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey praised news the Biden Administration has chosen to withdraw its nomination of David Chipman as director of the Department of Justice’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
The Attorney General had staunchly opposed the Chipman nomination in a national op-ed, a column in The Sunday News-Register of Wheeling and a letter to Senate leadership. He had argued that Chipman’s private work supporting the taxation, registration and confiscation of firearms made his potential confirmation a significant threat to law-abiding gun owners and the Second Amendment.
“This is a huge win for gun owners,” Attorney General Morrisey said. “It also demonstrates the power of West Virginia’s voice as well as that of Americans who cherish the Second Amendment. Now, we urge the Biden administration to nominate a director who will inspire confidence in the people they serve, while striving to confront violent crime without infringing on the constitutional rights of law-abiding gun owners.”
The Attorney General contends ATF agents play an important role in upholding the public safety of communities around the country. He had argued an agency director with a political agenda would have disserved those agents.
The May letter to Senate leadership pointed to Chipman’s history of anti-gun advocacy and political activism, arguing that Americans could not be reasonably expected to believe he would have been an unbiased enforcer of current laws.
The letter also argued the Chipman nomination would have made Americans less safe by diverting ATF resources to attack the rights of law-abiding gun owners instead of cracking down on violent criminals and criminal organizations.
Original source can be found here.