WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) raised concerns about two of President Joe Biden’s political nominees this week. President Biden nominated anti-gun lobbyist David Chipman to lead the Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, Tobacco & Explosives (ATF) and environmental activist Tracy Stone-Manning to head up the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Both would have an outsized influence on the state of Wyoming.
Of Chipman, Senator Lummis said, “One would be hard-pressed to identify a worse candidate for the job. According to reports, Chipman may have lost his own gun while serving as an ATF agent. He also failed – twice – to define the term “assault weapon” during his confirmation hearing. This level of irresponsibility and lack of basic firearms knowledge is hardly an endorsement for someone tasked with overseeing gun use in the United States.”
The ATF is a federal law enforcement organization tasked with investigating and preventing the unlawful use, manufacture, and possession of alcohol, firearms, tobacco, and explosives.
David Chipman is a senior advisor at Giffords, an anti-gun advocacy group founded by former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords (D-AZ). He is an outspoken opponent of our 2nd Amendment rights. In a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, he advocated for a total ban on assault rifles, which he described as “any semi-automatic rifle capable of accepting a detachable magazine above the caliber of .22…”
Of Stone Manning, Senator Lummis said, “I’m particularly interested in this nomination because the BLM manages over 18 million acres in Wyoming, and huge tracts of land throughout the West. We need a land manager who understands, respects and implements multiple use of public lands. Under Ms. Stone-Manning. I’m very concerned that multiple use principles will change. The reason is quite simple: This nominee is a radical. She’s been involved with eco-terrorists in the past, including a tree spiking incident in Idaho. Her extremist ties and past activism have even led to a former Obama BLM director to withdraw his support for her.”
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is tasked with administering federal lands. The BLM has jurisdiction over more than 18 million acres in Wyoming and 247 million acres nationwide.
Tracy Stone-Manning is a senior adviser for conservation policy at the National Wildlife Federation. She has ties to the eco-terrorism group Earth First!, infamous for spiking trees in forests across the west. Tree spiking is a practice in which an environmental extremist inserts a piece of metal into trees to sabotage logging efforts. These spikes cause logging and milling equipment to jam or break, endangering the lives of lumber and mill workers. Stone-Manning was investigated for her ties to this group and her involvement in a letter sent to the U.S. Forest Service warning the authorities of the actions of Earth First!.
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