Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen issued the following statement on today’s U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary hearing on the nomination of David Chipman to be Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF):

“Americans deserve an ATF director that will crack down on violent criminals and criminal organizations – not law-abiding gun owners. President Biden’s nominee clung to his position that commonly owned firearms should be taxed and registered in a federal database. Senator Steve Daines is standing with Montana gun owners and has said he will vote against David Chipman’s confirmation. Jon Tester must do the same if he supports the right to keep and bear arms.”

Attorney General Knudsen is leading a 21-state effort of attorneys general in opposition to Chipman’s confirmation to protect Americans’ right to keep and bear arms.