“I don’t have to wait a minute, let alone an hour, to take common sense action that will save lives in the future,” Biden said last month. The president plans to announce further management actions on the guns on Thursday, a person familiar with the plans said.
Chipman, if confirmed, would return to the agency where he worked for 25 years as a special agent.
She hailed Chipman as “the perfect choice” for the director in a statement Wednesday.
“The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives needs a strong and experienced leader and I have no doubts that David Chipman will be just that. As a former special agent of the ATF, as of Day one, David will be able to solve the most pressing issues facing the office, including reducing gun violence in this country, ”said Giffords, who had represented a district in Arizona.
Chipman, originally from Detroit, received an undergraduate degree from the American University and a Masters of Management from Johns Hopkins University.
In the president’s first limited action on gun control Thursday, Biden will order his administration to tighten restrictions on so-called phantom weapons and pistol stabilizer orthotics that allow guns to be used more accurately, according to a senior official. administration. Ghost pistols are handcrafted or self-assembled firearms that do not have a serial number, and some can be made in as little as 30 minutes using kits and parts purchased online.
ATF has been without a permanent director since 2015.
In recent years, the office has become more visible following mass shootings in the United States and other crimes involving guns. But the agency has a broader reach than guns.
“We work in partnership with communities, industries, law enforcement and public safety agencies to protect the public we serve through information sharing, training, research and use. technology, ”the bureau’s website says.
Advocacy for gun control
After leaving the ATF in 2012, Chipman became a senior advisor at Everytown for gun safety, where he was “frequently consulted” by lawmakers considering gun control legislation, according to his Linkedin.
Chipman then served as Senior Vice President of Public Safety Solutions for almost three years before arriving at Giffords as Senior Policy Advisor in 2016.
It was in these roles that Chipman’s voice as a strong advocate for gun control was raised, as he frequently wrote opinion pieces and made media appearances to advance the cause.
The country’s gun safety laws, he wrote at the time, “make it too easy for guns to fall into the wrong hands – and as Congress has failed to address these Gaps in the legislation, the ATF must chart a new course to tackle the scourge of gun violence. It requires strong leadership. “
“Talking to any gun owner, a 100 round magazine just isn’t traditional. It’s not normal. And I can’t think of a purpose beyond killing a lot. of people, to have it, ”he said. “So if the debate is, should it be 10 or whatever, it can’t be 100. And so I think there’s room where we can have some progress, even if we will not have perfection. “
This story was updated with additional details on Wednesday.
Josh Campbell of CNN contributed to this report.