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Joe Biden’s pick to run the ATF didn’t do himself many favors on Wednesday during his confirmation hearing; from claiming that his anti-gun advocacy will have no bearing on his job performance if he’s confirmed as permanent director to advocating for a ban on “assault weapons” even though he couldn’t actually define the guns he wants to make illegal.
.@SenJohnKennedy gave ATF nominee David Chipman multiple opportunities to define assault weapons. You re going to be running this agency and you don t have a definition of assault weapons?! …
If you won t answer my question, how can I vote for you? pic.twitter.com/DQU4ARR3og
Amy is a legal fellow in the Meese Center for Legal and Judicial Studies. The new definition also could lead to absurd realities where homemade guns end up with multiple serial numbers stamped throughout different parts of the firearm. CatEyePerspective / Getty Images
Key Takeaways
Firearms without serial numbers are ghost guns in the sense that there are no official records of their existence.
Many gun kits and “80% receivers” now would be regulated the same as fully functional firearms and finished receivers.
The power to make and change law belongs to Congress. And only to Congress.
When President Joe Biden announced a plan in mid-February to “tackle gun violence,” he said he would direct the Justice Department to issue new regulations for so-called ghost guns.
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David Chipman, President Joe Biden’s nominee for director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives nominee, testified Wednesday that a “law-abiding” gun owner can potentially become violent so further restrictions on all gun owners are necessary.
Chipman, a 25-year veteran of the ATF who later left the agency in 2012 to become a senior adviser to all major gun control organizations, was asked by Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn if he recognized an individual s right to keep and bear arms.
“The Supreme Court has recognized that right. I m a gun owner myself, and the answer is yes,” Chipman replied.