David Chipman, who was once President Biden’s nominee to lead the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, told the New York Times that he spoke to no one from the administration from the moment he was first nominated.

Said Chipman: “In the back of my mind, I always thought that there would be a Plan B, but so far there hasn’t been.”

In a marked change from the past, women accounted for nearly half of new gun sales in the U.S. since 2019, the Wall Street Journal reports.

“Researchers and gun store owners attributed the jump to fears driven by the Covid-19 pandemic and the protests, sometimes accompanied by violence, that followed the police killing of George Floyd, as well as the divisive atmosphere around the 2020 presidential election.”

CNN: “The law, which will go into effect on August 28, ‘prohibits state and local cooperation with federal officials that attempt to enforce any laws, rules, orders, or actions that violate the Second Amendment rights of Missourians.’”

“Since the law was passed, 12 of 53 state and local officers with federal deputizations have withdrawn from ATF task forces.”

“By pulling state and local officers from the task forces, the bureau ‘is no longer able to fulfill its duties as effectively, including preventing, investigating, and assisting in the prosecution of violent offenders.’”

Politico: “With Joe Biden’s nominee to lead the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives lacking any viable path to confirmation, gun violence survivors and activists are pushing the president to create a White House office of gun violence headed by a Cabinet-level aide.”

“In a letter sent to Biden Wednesday, four advocacy groups complained that his actions on guns ‘fall significantly short of the promises you yourself made while running for the presidency’ and have not been a priority as 28,000 Americans died from gun violence this year.”

New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) said in a court filing that the National Rifle Association “hasn’t cleaned up rampant financial and managerial misconduct as it claimed over the past year, illustrating the need for the gun-rights group to be dissolved,” Bloomberg reports.

“A new state law will soon let most Texans carry handguns in public without going through training or having to get permits,” the Texas Tribune reports.

“But some Texas law enforcement officers fear that removing restrictions to carrying handguns could increase crime rates while putting officers and residents in danger.”

Said  James McLaughlin, head of the Texas Police Chiefs Association: “I don’t know what it’s a solution to. I don’t know what the problem was to start with.”

Associated Press: “Police investigating Britain’s first mass shooting in more than a decade — which left six dead, including the gunman — said Friday the motive was unclear but there were no immediate signs that the crime was an act of terrorism, or connected to right-wing groups.”

“Gun crimes are rare in Britain, where there are strict firearm control rules.”

Politico: “The confirmation of David Chipman to lead the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is increasingly in peril. And now gun violence survivors and activists are going public with their long-simmering private frustrations, saying President Joe Biden could have done more.”

“In half a dozen interviews, those advocating for Chipman’s confirmation complained that Biden and his top aides have not leaned enough on Democratic senators to get them to support the confirmation.”

“The Mexican government said Wednesday it plans to file legal action against several major U.S.-based gun manufacturers, alleging that lax controls contribute to the illegal flow of weapons over the border,” the Washington Post reports.

“The unusual suit is expected to be filed in U.S. federal court in Boston, since some of the manufacturers are headquartered in Massachusetts, according to the documents. The suit — which seeks unspecified financial compensation from the companies — does not target the U.S. government.”

Texas Tribune: “Two years later, as El Paso remembers the victims, they’re also reminded of the broken promises made by top leadership in Texas in the wake of the shooting. The alleged gunman from North Texas drove 10 hours to El Paso to, in his own words posted on a racist online platform, ‘stop the Hispanic invasion of Texas.’”

“But two years after the attack, some of the conditions that led to the shooting remain entrenched; violence by extremist groups is on the rise according to the FBI and the U.S. Department of Justice; and rhetoric describing migrants as criminals and invaders is now espoused by Texas’ Republican leadership, including Abbott.”

“And in what some call an affront to the victims’ families, Texas Republicans expanded gun rights earlier this year when the state Legislature passed a permitless carry bill.”

“Remington Arms Co on Tuesday offered to pay nearly $33 million to nine families to settle lawsuits claiming that its marketing of firearms contributed to the 2012 Sandy Hook school massacre in Newtown, Connecticut, where 26 people died,” Reuters reports.

After being handed a semi-automatic rifle as a present at a rally earlier this month, Donald Trump ally and former general Michael Flynn joked “maybe I’ll find somebody in Washington, D.C,” Newsweek reports.

“A divided federal appeals court on Tuesday held that the federal government may not bar federally licensed gun dealers from selling handguns to law-abiding citizens under 21 years old, potentially setting up the issue for the U.S. Supreme Court to decide,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer “called on the Justice Department to investigate the National Rifle Association for bankruptcy fraud, saying the financially stable gun-rights group abused the system when it sought bankruptcy protection in the wake of a New York lawsuit seeking to put it out of business,” the Associated Press reports.

“After storming the Capitol on Jan. 6, a Northern Virginia man began forming his own militia-like group in the D.C. suburbs and building up a supply of explosives under the guise of a Bible study group,” the Washington Post reports.