NSSF: A Word of Thanks to Sen. Toomey

NEWTOWN, Conn. — The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), the trade association for the firearm and ammunition industry, is grateful for the leadership by U.S. Senator Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) announcing that he will not support President Joe Biden’s nominee, David Chipman, to lead the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). This bold and decisive announcement is critical to ensuring the ATF remains a fair and impartial law enforcement and regulatory bureau and not a political tool of gun control special interests.

"On behalf of the firearm and ammunition industry, the 13,000 hardworking Pennsylvanians whose jobs depend on the firearm industry, millions of lawful Pennsylvania gun owners and Second Amendment supporters, we thank Senator Pat Toomey for his strong and principled stand to protect the rights of law-abiding Americans. This decision protects the men and women of the ATF working hard each day to carry out their critical mission," said Lawrence G. Keane, NSSF Senior Vice President and General Counsel. "David Chipman’s nomination is clearly a move to politicize the ATF. Confirming a gun control lobbyist as director would not only do irreversible damage to ATF’s mission but it would also harm the cooperative relationship between our industry members and ATF."

Members of the firearm industry have a long-standing and cooperative relationship with the ATF to achieve compliance and keep firearms out of the hands of those who are not allowed to possess them.  NSSF has supported every ATF director nomination that has been reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee, including President Barack Obama’s nominee, B. Todd Jones who was confirmed by the Senate.

Keane added, "NSSF encourages President Biden to withdraw the nominee and nominate an unbiased, more qualified person to run ATF, someone the industry could support."

Click here to watch NSSF’s first-ever television ad explaining why Chipman should not be confirmed.

About NSSF

NSSF is the trade association for the firearm industry. Its mission is to promote, protect and preserve hunting and the shooting sports. Formed in 1961, NSSF has a membership of thousands of manufacturers, distributors, firearms retailers, shooting ranges, sportsmen’s organizations and publishers nationwide. For more information, visit nssf.org.