Stephen GutowskiVerified account

Chipman says he should not have said helicopters were shot down at Waco since that wasn't true. He claims he meant to say they were "forced down" by gun fire.

The first question from Senator Grassley (R., IA) to ATF nominee Chipman is about Hunter Biden's 2018 gun purchase. He is complaining the ATF hasn't turned over records to him.

Chipman tells Senator Leahy (D., VT) that he thinks tracing is important. Leahy calls to create a digital database of the ATF's background check records by repealing the federal ban on digital gun registries.

Cornyn complains about the 5-minute allotment for questioning the 5 nominees in this hearing. He calls it a "drive-by hearing."

Chipman says he recognizes an individual right to keep and bear arms.

Cornyn is going after "unlicensed firearms manufacturers" and asks Chimpman to work with him on that.

Senator Feinstein (D., Calif.) says the media is reporting "six or seven" people have been killed in the shooting in California (I haven't seen this reported anywhere) and Chipman says he thinks the ATF going after gun trafficking may have prevented the shooting.

Chipman said he wasn't aware of the shooting until Feinstein brought it up. But he was willing to say the ATF may have been able to prevent it anyway.

Senator Lee (R., Utah) also complained about the limited amount of time to question the nominees. He's now asking Chipman about his 2019 statement on trying to arrest people "before they commit" crimes.

Lee calls Chipman's attitude towards gun owners "troubling" and "flippant."

Chipman again says his statement on arresting people before they commit crimes was a mistake. He says he meant that people should be arrested for failing background checks and before they commit other violent crimes.

Chipman claims he was being self-deprecating when he mocked new gun owners in 2020 and his comments were somehow taken out of context.

Lee asks Chimpan's comments that the only people who support deregulating silencers/suppressors are criminals and gun lobbyists. Chipman again claims he did not mean what he said. Lee fires back "You're not going to spit downwind and then tell us it's raining."

There was a problem with the microphones in the hearing so we just got a good few minutes of old guys fumbling with technology and repeatedly "Is this working? Are we back?"

The mics are, in fact, working and we are, in fact, back.

Senator Cruz (R., Texas) asks Chipman if he supports a ban on AR-15s. Chipman says he does support banning AR-15s because it is a "particularly lethal weapon." He says he would only enforce the laws on the books as ATF director.

Chipman says there is a "mixed" record on whether the 1994 assault weapons ban was actually effective or not.

Chipman says he supports not just banning the sales of AR-15s and other "assault weapons" but also adding currently-owned ones to the National Firearms Act which requires registration and a tax stamp among other restrictions.

Chipman reiterates to Senator Hawley (R., MO) that his "passion" after leaving ATF was to make the agency more effective by working for gun-control groups to expand gun laws.

Chipman says he doesn't agree with his employer, the gun-control group Giffords, that there is not an individual right to keep and bear arms. When asked directly if he thinks Heller was rightly decided, he says yes.

Here is video of Chipman's exchange on his support for banning and registering AR-15shttps://twitter.com/SteveGuest/status/1397585833138528262 …

Chipman says that he does not support armed guards at schools. Instead, he suggests metal detectors and other measures like the ones used in Congress could be considered.

Senator Whitehouse (D., RI) asks Chipman to reinforce he'd only enforce laws and not create them. Chipman says that's what he would do.

Senator Cotton (R., AR) brings up Hunter Biden's 2018 gun purchase. He says Biden has admitted he was using drugs at the time. He asks Chipman if he will investigate the matter. Chipman doesn't say he will do that. But he says it may have already been investigated.

Chipman says the definition of "assault weapon" is whatever Congress decides it is.

Cotton and Chipman go back and forth on what Chipman thinks the definition should be but Chipman doesn't really give one. He relays an ATF definition of "assault rifle" which would be any semi-automatic rifle capable of accepting a detachable magazine with a caliber above .22.

That would be a FAR more expansive definition than any of those proposed in "assault weapons" ban legislation anywhere in the country.

But it wasn't clear that Chipman was saying that's what he would want the definition of "assault weapon" to be. Seemed like he was just talking about an obscure ATF document defining the term "assault rifle." It was a confusing exchange.

Chipman says it is "well within the powers of Congress to balance the rights we have under the Constitution and the responsibility as a nation to keep us safe."