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Biden: For Protection; 'Buy A Shotgun, Buy A Shotgun'

Vice President Joe Biden's advice to his wife about protecting their home in Delaware:

They don't need an assault-style weapon. If there are bad guys on the property, walk out on the balcony and fire a couple blasts from their double-barrel shotgun. "You don't need 30 rounds to protect yourself," he adds, and a shotgun's easier to aim than an assault-style rifle. Plus, two shotgun blasts should scare off most intruders, Biden says.

And that was the vice president's advice to others Tuesday during a Facebook townhall with Parents magazine. When the subject turned to gun violence, gun control laws and weapons, Biden talked about what he says he's told Jill Biden and concluded with this advice to others who feel they need a weapon for protection:

"Buy a shotgun; buy a shotgun," not an assault-style weapon.

Presumably, Biden's advice to his wife was given before they had Secret Service protection.

Note: That's just a question, not a scientific survey of public opinion.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Mark Memmott is NPR's supervising senior editor for Standards & Practices. In that role, he's a resource for NPR's journalists – helping them raise the right questions as they do their work and uphold the organization's standards.
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