President Joe Biden has nominated David Chipman to head the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (BATF). Chipman is an ardent gun control advocate who is seeing his nomination struggle as his disregard for Americans’ Second Amendment constitutional rights is showing how unpopular he is with voters of all types.
Now, The Federalist is reporting that his disdain for the First Amendment is coming to light as well. In a 2019 interview televised on the BBC following a shooting incident, Chipman said that he is frustrated that the federal government cannot violate the First Amendment and the Second to stop what he called internet “hate speech.”
Chipman said, “The frustration is in the United States the freedom of speech and to say things is large cannot be regulated. We have to do more to monitor hate speech on the internet. But we also have to do more to curb that same speech being presented by our President and other elected public officials.”
“The FBI, other federal agencies, have a tough job responding to these threats when they don’t currently have the authority to remove weaponry just because people are saying hateful things,” he added.
Of course, Chipman did not define “hate speech,” which is, of course, meaningless under the First Amendment in any event.
Following the BBC interview, Chipman shared the video on his Facebook account with the caption, “The BBC wanted to know if the President’s response to this weekend’s mass shootings was adequate. I was able to answer that question.”
David Chipman is a registered lobbyist who has strongly advocated for gun control and banning AR-15 rifles.
Several House Republicans are sending a signal to Senators even before they have voted on Chipman’s nomination by initiating impeachment proceedings against him.
Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-MT) was leading that effort and wrote in a statement about his resolution, “The confirmation of David Chipman to the ATF would be a direct threat to the second amendment rights of Americans and the rule of law. Not only has Chipman previously given false testimony to Congress, but his statements on gun control are evidence that his confirmation would be a failure to support and defend our constitutional rights. If appointed, both are impeachable offenses and worthy of Congress to consider his removal.”
