Obama names anti-gun extremist as next BATFE head

St Louis Gun Rights Examiner ^ | 16 November, 2010 | Kurt Hoffman

[marktwain]

Well, it's official (if misspelled, in the New York Times)--Andrew Traver is President Obama's choice to be the BATFE's next Supreme Leader:

Nearly two years into his term, President Obama on Monday finally chose a director for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Mr. Obama will submit the name of Andrew Taver [sic], the special agent in charge of the bureau’s Chicago field division, to the Senate for consideration, the White House said.

This, no doubt, will immensely please the Brady Campaign, who will probably try to imply that it was their complaining--and complaining (pdf file)--that inspired this action.

That Traver's would be the name eventually submitted has been suspected for months, with the first (to my knowledge) to bring up the possibility being Mike Vanderboegh, back in early July. In that post, Mr. Vanderboegh documented some of Traver's hostility to the right to keep and bear arms:

But there is more to Traver than selfless service to his community. He is an anti-firearm rights zealot. He is on record as opposing so-called "assault rifles" in the hands of citizens. Worse, he is a prominent member of the virulently anti-firearm International Association of Chiefs of Police.

The NBC Chicago "news" story in which Traver expresses his opposition to private ownership of so-called "assault weapons" is something, it turns out, that I have discussed before, as has National Gun Rights Examiner David Codrea (video of that story can be seen to the left). One of my favorite parts of the NBC piece was this:

Traver says the power and randomness of the heavy caliber, military-style weapons make them so dangerous not only to people, but to police.

[Postman]

Anyone have a complete list of the politicians who were supported by the NRA? Be interesting when push comes to shove on issues like this whether they care more about the 2nd Amendment or Reid and Pelosi.