Vice President Joe Biden has always been known for spouting gaffes, but some of the comments he's made about guns and firearms owners of late have, perhaps, landed him in the most hot water.
Following the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, the Obama administration has touted some controversial gun control measures. In driving home the White House's message, the vice-president has spoken out fervently about his contentions -- but sometimes his comments have created firestorms, furor -- or, at the least, some head-scratching.
Here are Biden's five most comical, inaccurate and cringe-worthy quotes about guns:
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"If you want to protect yourself, get a double-barrel shotgun," Biden said in an interview with Parents Magazine back in February. "You don’t need an AR-15. It’s harder to aim, it’s harder to use, and in fact, you don’t need 30 rounds to protect yourself. Buy a shotgun. Buy a shotgun."
But as TheBlaze's Jason Howerton previously reported, not everyone agrees with this assessment:
Jesse Bonner, owner of Jesse’s Gun Shop in Corsicana, Texas, smacked down Biden’s claim. He told TheBlaze that “our vice president is inaccurate.”
“That would not be true,” he said. “I’ve taught enough ladies to shoot all different types of firearms and I can tell you that the AR-15 is going to be better suited for a lady. It would be better for all-around home defense and it’s one of the most accurate guns out there.”
“The AR-15 is now a mainstream weapon because of its quality design and accuracy,” he added, saying that a shotgun, especially a 12-gauge, can be difficult to use for many people. Smaller women could have even more trouble firing a 12-gauge shotgun due to the recoil.
So it seems, at least according to some, Biden's take on the matter isn't necessarily rooted in accuracy.
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After giving his advice to go out and "buy a shotgun" rather than an AR-15, Biden issued, perhaps, his most controversial gun comment to date.
During an interview with Field and Stream, an outdoors magazine, the vice-president gave additional advice to those looking to protect themselves against would-be intruders: "Just fire the shotgun through the door."
And, again, he said that most can "handle a shotgun a hell of a lot better than they can a semi-automatic weapon." Here's a full transcript of his comments:
Well, the way in which we measure it is—I think most scholars would say—is that as long as you have a weapon sufficient to be able to provide your self-defense. I did one of these town-hall meetings on the Internet and one guy said, “Well, what happens when the end days come? What happens when there’s the earthquake? I live in California, and I have to protect myself.”
I said, “Well, you know, my shotgun will do better for you than your AR-15, because you want to keep someone away from your house, just fire the shotgun through the door.” Most people can handle a shotgun a hell of a lot better than they can a semi-automatic weapon in terms of both their aim and in terms of their ability to deter people coming. We can argue whether that’s true or not, but it is no argument that, for example, a shotgun could do the same job of protecting you. Now, granted, you can come back and say, “Well, a machine gun could do a better job of protecting me.” No one’s arguing we should make machine guns legal.
But as we've noted, just shooting through a door isn't necessarily the best foot forward in terms of ensuring self-protection.
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Earlier this month, Biden, once again, touted proposed gun control measures and took aim at the National Rifle Association (NRA). He dismissed the "black helicopter crowd" and mocked gun owners who have concerns about potential government overreach in regulating firearms.
"Kinda scary man, the black helicopter crowd is really upset," Biden noted during a recent speech. "No way that Uncle Sam can go find out whether you own a gun because we’re about to really take away all your rights and you’re not going to be able to defend yourself and we’re going to swoop down with Special Forces folks and gather up every gun in America. It’s bizarre. But that’s what’s being sold out there."
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In an MSNBC roundtable discussion this week, Biden issued a number of controversial quotes. Among them, he repeated familiar attack lines against the NRA, accusing the group of spouting "disinformation" and "paranoia."
But he also issued an odd and fascinating comparison, saying that some gun owners are only interested in the "feel" of a firearm in their hands. Here's some of the dialogue, as reported by TheBlaze this week:
“There is a paranoia out there,” the politician said. “The facts are, there’s not a single solitary thing that we have proposed…this argument that there’s absolutely any constitutional violation is absolutely not there.”
Of course, Biden’s comments about gun owners who simply “like the feel of that AR-15″ will likely draw the most ire from some.
“There is a whole new sort of group of individuals now…that never hunt at all. But they own guns for one of two reasons — self-protection, or they just like the feel of that AR-15 at the range,” he said. “They like the way it feels. It’s like driving a Ferrari, you know.”
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During the same MSNBC panel, Biden continued to offer up his views on shotguns versus AR-15s (despite getting some pushback months before). Acknowledging that critics have lambasted his assertions, he doubled down on them anyway, this time warning that AR-15s could end up killing American children.
"You know, they make fun of my saying about use a shotgun if someone’s invading your home – guess what, use a shotgun on someone invading your home and you don’t kill your kids – use an AR-15, it goes through your wall and it can kill your kid in the bedroom" Biden said.
But, as CNS News pointed out, "Biden made no mention of self-defense ammunition designed for the AR-15 in order to prevent wall penetration."
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