Dear Friend,
We need your help! At a time when the country is experiencing dramatically increasing gun violence, and when far right white-supremacist militias are posing the greatest threat to national security according to experts, [1] we must demand that our elected leaders take the safety of our families and communities seriously.
The director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is the chief enforcement officer of our federal gun safety laws, but the United States hasn’t had a confirmed ATF director since 2015 -- six years! [2]
Since the beginning of the COVID pandemic, mass shootings have doubled, white supremacist militias have been emboldened, and gun violence has also surged. Experts are worried that things will only get worse. [3] We just can’t afford the leadership vacuum at ATF any longer.
We need the U.S. Senate to, at the very minimum, vote to strengthen background checks on gun sales, and also give us real leadership at the ATF to enforce what anemic gun safety policies that exist.
The absence of serious leadership at ATF over the years has made a mockery of our already inadequate gun safety laws and their ability to curb our gun violence epidemic. Consider a recently released analysis and investigation of ATF by USAToday and The Trace, based on more than 30,000 pages of investigative reports of gun dealers provided by Brady: It found that instead of revoking gun dealer licenses and stopping blatant law breaking, ATF agents have been doing little more than issuing inconsequential warnings for serious gun safety law infractions! [4] Those unscrupulous gun dealers remain in businesses, continuing to make our homes and streets less safe because the ATF has been gutted.
David Chipman is the leader we need at ATF. He’s served in non-profit organizations and for 25 years at the agency, with wide-ranging experience ranging from monitoring firearms trafficking to investigating terrorist attacks. After retiring from ATF, he became a senior policy adviser at Giffords, the gun violence prevention group founded by former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. [5] Not only does Chipman know how ATF should work, he is a true champion of gun safety.
Please forward this email to family, friends, and everyone you know who cares about the safety of America’s families and communities and ask them to sign on too.
Together we can build a safer nation where everyone can thrive.
In solidarity,
Gloria, Kristin, Joy, Jessica, Beatriz, and the entire MomsRising/MamásConPoder team
[1] “Far-Right Militias Pose Greatest Threat to US National Security, Experts Say,” Newsweek, Jan. 1, 2021.
[2] “The Debate Over Gun Laws Will Center On One Man This Week,” NPR.org, May 24, 2021.
[3] “2020 was the deadliest gun violence year in decades. So far, 2021 is worse.” The Washington Post, June 14, 2021.
[4] “Marquee investigation of ATF data by USA Today and The Trace demonstrates need for ATF modernization and improved inspections practices,” bradyunited.org, May 27, 2021.
[5] “The ATF needs to be modernized; David Chipman can help do that,” The Hill, June 14, 2021.
You can unsubscribe from this mailing list at any time.