Biden's ATF nominee supports a ban on the AR-15 rifle

President Biden's nominee to helm the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco Firearms and Explosives David Chipman supports the idea of banning the AR-15 semi-automatic rifle. 

"With respect to the AR-15, I support a ban as has been presented in a Senate bill and supported by the president. The AR-15 is a gun I was issued on ATF's SWAT team. And it's a particularly lethal weapon and regulating it as other particularly lethal weapons I have advocated for," he said during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Wednesday.

Chipman noted that if confirmed to lead the ATF he will enforce the law, and presently, "there is no such ban on those guns." 

He expressed his opinion that such weapons already owned by Americans should be regulated under the National Firearms Act: "Senator, what I've said publicly is that as an advocate I prefer a system where the AR-15 and other assault weapons are regulated under the National Firearms Act," Chipman said to Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.