The Senate Judiciary Committee has delayed voting on the nomination of retired federal agent-turned-gun control advocate David Chipman one week, until Thursday, June 24, and during that time, grassroots Second Amendment activists are expected to be flooding Capitol Hill with messages of opposition.
(Article by Dave Workman republished from AmmoLand.com)
"Between now and next Thursday," suggested Jason Ouimet, executive director of the National Rifle Association's Institute for Legislative Action, "(gun owners) ought to be contacting their Senators. They don't want a partisan person like David Chipman running ATF."
Ouimet spoke with AmmoLand News via telephone, expressing alarm that a nominee with Chipman's background would be considered for the job of running the government’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. NRA has opposed the Chipman nomination from the beginning, stating, "Chipman has a long history of gun control advocacy that disqualifies him from leading the agency charged with enforcing federal gun laws."
"The person who runs ATF ought to be somebody who can put politics aside, work with industry, gun owners and law enforcement," Ouimet said.
Chipman, however, has worked for the gun prohibition lobby in the years since retiring from the ATF, which is responsible for enforcing the nation's federal gun control laws.
Ouimet indicted calls to the Capitol have been heavy, and he said NRA has been concentrating attention on senators in certain states.
Earlier this week, Gun Owners of America provided an online avenue to oppose Chipman's nomination. At the same time, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms offered the Capitol switchboard telephone number (202) 224-3121 for gun owners who prefer making a personal call to the offices of their two senators.
Ouimet suggested placing calls and sending messages specifically to members of the Senate Judiciary Committee. The committee's direct line is (202) 224-7703:
DEMOCRATIC MEMBERS
- Patrick Leahy (VT)
- Dianne Feinstein (CA)
- Sheldon Whitehouse (RI)
- Amy Klobuchar (MN)
- Christopher A. Coons (DE)
- Richard Blumenthal (CT)
- Mazie Hirono (HI)
- Cory Booker (NJ)
- Alex Padilla (CA)
- Jon Ossoff (GA)
REPUBLICAN MEMBERS
- Lindsey Graham (SC)
- John Cornyn (TX)
- Michael S. Lee (UT)
- Ted Cruz (TX)
- Ben Sasse (NE)
- Joshua D. Hawley (MO)
- Tom Cotton (AR)
- John Kennedy (LA)
- Thom Tillis (NC)
- Marsha Blackburn (TN)
Messages for Committee Chairman Dick Durbin could also be called directly to his office at (202) 224-2152, and Ranking Member Sen. Chuck Grassley at (202) 224-3744.
The Senate will break for a couple of weeks in late June through July 12, Ouimet noted. During that period, when senators are at home meeting with constituents, grassroots activists can set up face-to-face meetings or attend "town hall" gatherings. Watch your local newspaper for information on such events.
Quimet expects a solid party-line vote in the Judiciary Committee, which is evenly divided with 11 members from each side of the aisle. It is when, or if, the nomination gets to the full Senate where each vote will hang in the balance, and a tie would be decided by Democrat Kamala Harris, in her role as president of the Senate.
Adding to the drama, Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene this week introduced H.R. 3960, which would abolish the ATF. Text of the legislation was not available when AmmoLand News checked on the measure Friday online.
In a statement quoted by the Washington Examiner, Greene observed, "The ATF's unconstitutional war on gun owners and our Second Amendment rights must end."
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