Apparently David Chipman Isnt Crazy About the First Amendment, Either – National Review

David Chipman testifies during a House Judiciary Committee hearing in Washington, September 25, 2019. (Leah Millis/Reuters)

So it turns out that Joe Bidens anti-gun nominee for the ATF, David Chipman, also has problems with the First Amendment, telling BBC in 2019 (hat-tip to The Federalist) that there is frustration in the United States over freedom of speech and the ability of people to say things is that largely cannot be regulated.

No, not, largely. Words cant be regulated, period.

Chipman, like most would-be censors, frames speech restrictions as a public-safety issue. The FBI, other federal agencies, have a tough job responding to these threats when they dont currently have the authority to remove weaponry just because people are saying hateful things, he explained.

First off, thousands of Americans have had their guns taken from them via red-flag and other laws usually after police and courts determine that the owners are putting themselves or others in danger. Just today, Floridas agriculture commissioner Nikki Fried strippedthe concealed-carry licenses of 22 people who have yet to be convicted of any crime. Authorities already have too much leeway in limiting Second Amendment rights.

Most mass shooters offer few, if any, clues about their plans. Most of them dont even have a criminal record. Even if they had, theres a big difference between threatening imminent violence and saying hateful things. Yet, Chipman seems to believe that cops, using their precrime clairvoyance, should be empowered to unilaterally determine what constitutes hate speech before seizing guns from people who have done nothing illegal an authoritarian twofer.

Theres of surplus of historical evidence demonstrating why such power should never be afforded the state. And one need only listen to Chipman conflate conservatism and white supremacy and exaggerate the prevalence of gun violence and domestic terrorism during his BBC interview to understand how quickly that power would be abused.

Maybe Im an outlier on this issue, but Ive gone my entire life without ever feeling frustrated about the right of others to publicly express opinions even reprehensible ones. Its not as if theyre going to stop believing or feeling stupid things simply because the ATF director threatens them. Of course, Chipman is free to believe whatever he likes, as well. Its appalling, however, that someone with such disdain for the Constitution has been nominated for a position that is charged with upholding the law.

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Apparently David Chipman Isnt Crazy About the First Amendment, Either - National Review