If You Listen To Joe Biden, You Could Be Arrested. But Could He Be Held Responsible For Giving The Advice? We Think So!

Man Takes Joe Biden’s “Shotgun” Advice, Gets Arrested

By Brian Anderson on November 20, 2013 Subscribe to Brian Anderson's Feed

Last week I joked that the man accused of killing Renisha McBride should use the “Shotgun Joe” defense because from the pictures I saw, it looked like he fired his shotgun through his front door. If you remember, Vice President Joe Biden once said that we should protect our homes from intruders by shooting at them through our doors with shotguns. Of course, this is horrible advice, but it’s not the only bad suggestion the VP has offered for home defense. He also advocates firing warning shots in the air to scare off potential threats.

That’s exactly what Jeffrey Barton did last July when three prowlers were attempting to break into his car. He let loose a shotgun blast to scare the bad guys off and is now charged with illegal discharge of a firearm. Barton claims innocence and has said, “I did what Joe Biden told me to do.”

Barton is referring to an interview Biden gave last February amidst the gun control debate. While trying to say that so-called “assault rifles” were unnecessary for home defense, he offered this tidbit:

“If you want to protect yourself, get a double-barrel shotgun. … I said [to my wife] ‘Jill, if there’s ever a problem, just walk out on the balcony here, walk out, put that double-barrel shotgun and fire two blasts outside the house. I promise you whoever’s coming in is not going to…”

“I was protecting my family. I was within my 2nd Amendment right. I chose not to take a life that night. I fired my gun in the air,” said Barton.

The Washington State resident feels Biden owes him. In fact, during a pre-trial hearing, he was wearing a black t-shirt that read: Joe Biden Owes Me.

“While Vice President Biden was right about scaring off intruders, I’m out over $10,000 and counting for following his professional advice,” said Barton referring to his legal bills.

I’m no big city lawyer, but I’m guessing that taking the advice of a lunatic is not a strong legal defense. It’s funny, but I doubt the precedent exists to help him get a not guilty verdict. What would be interesting though is if Barton decides to sue Biden. The VP’s position as point man on Obama’s gun-control commission establishes him as an expert and authority. Giving poor advice could make him financially responsible for Barton’s loses.

Just in case you are not a gun person and don’t understand how laughably bad Biden’s shotgun advice actually is, let me hook you up:

Firing a gun through a closed front door is a horrible idea because you generally don’t want to shoot at something you can’t see. That’s how tragedies happen. One of the major rules of gun safety is: always know what your target is. Also, you will have a hard time proving self-defense when you are shooting at people outside of your home.

Shooting into the air is a big no-no as well, because what goes up must come down. Rounds fired into the air can and have come down to injure and kill innocent people. In addition, the act of firing a warning shot is an admission that your life is not in danger. If you genuinely fear for your safety, the shot should be directed at your attacker.

Joe Biden is a jack-ass and nearly everything that comes out of his mouth is ridiculous. Here we have an example of how his foot-in-mouth disease has actually had negative consequences. If Obama can apologize for lying about keeping your health insurance policy, surely the VP can say he’s sorry about this. And really, that’s all Jeffery Barton wants. When a reporter asked him what he thought Biden owed him, he simply replied “an apology.”