The Biden ATF candidate called for a ban on assault weapons
President Biden’s selection to head the Office of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Steven Dettelbach, acknowledged on Wednesday that he has no definition for the term “assault weapon.”
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President Biden’s election to head the Office of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Steve Dettelbach, acknowledged on Wednesday that he did not have a definition for the term “assault weapon”, although he called for a ban when he filed as an Ohio attorney. general in 2018.
During his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Dettelbach was confronted with a gridlock by Senator Tom Cotton, R-Ark. his campaign, despite not knowing what that would mean.
“When I was running for office, I did talk about restrictions on assault weapons. I didn’t define the term. And I didn’t go through the process of defining that term,” Dettelbach acknowledged.
President Biden’s election to head the Office of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Steven Dettelbach, testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, May 25, 2022. (Video of the pool)
“So you’re running for public office and asking for a ban on assault weapons, but you don’t have a definition for assault weapons?” Cotton asked.
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Dettelbach explained that deciding which weapons fall into the category of “assault weapons” is the job of lawmakers. He acknowledged that “it would be a difficult task” to define what assault weapons are, because making them too limited in scope would not “offer the intended protections”, while making it too broad “unnecessarily infringes on the rights of citizens.” “.
Steve Dettelbach, candidate for director of the Office of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), speaks at the White House Roser in Washington, DC, on April 11, 2022. (Ting Shen / Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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Cotton argued that “assault weapons” is an invented term used by “Washington politicians and lawyers.” He pointed out that weapons have classifications such as pistol, rifle and shotgun and that each has definite characteristics, but assault weapons do not.
Senator Tom Cotton, R-Ark., Questions the election of President Biden to head the Office of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Steven Dettelbach, Wednesday, May 25, 2022, during a Judicial Committee hearing of the Senate. (Video of the pool)
“I think it’s very illustrative that you’re appointed to lead the ATF and you don’t have a definition of an assault weapon. And the point is, there really isn’t a category of weapons known as assault weapons.” the senator. dit.
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Cotton recalled that Congress defined assault weapons with a 1994 ban, but Dettelbach admitted that “he’s not particularly familiar with that.”