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Joe Biden is getting a lot of attention today for suggesting that homeowners interested in protecting themselves with firearms buy a shotgun instead of a semi-automatic assault rifle. Was his comment off base?

Gun-control advocates aren鈥檛 happy that the vice president of the US 鈥� who鈥檚 supposed to be pushing the administration鈥檚 gun plan 鈥� wandered off the reservation and appeared to back ammo-based home defense. Gun-rights people charge that Mr. Biden is offering an uninformed choice that smacks of government intervention.

鈥淣ice of Joe to take it upon himself to decide what others do and don鈥檛 to protect himself,鈥� Michelle Malkin today on her eponymous website.

How did this all start? During an online Facebook town-hall forum hosted by Parents Magazine, VP Biden fielded a question from 鈥淜ate鈥� to the effect that if assault weapons and high-capacity magazines are banned, will 鈥渓aw abiding citizens ... then become more of a target to criminals?鈥�

Biden was already off-put, since the previous question had focused on drug legalization. Perhaps the forum administrators weren鈥檛 filtering reader submissions in quite the manner he鈥檇 expected?

鈥淚s this Parents Magazine?... I have Parents Magazine in my home, I鈥檝e never heard anybody in Parents Magazine ask these kinds of questions, but I鈥檓 delighted to answer them,鈥� said the VP, according to a transcript of the event.

Then he launched into his shotgun spiel. 鈥淜ate, if you want to protect yourself, get a double-barreled shotgun,鈥� he said.

Then Biden added that he and his wife, Jill, live in a wooded area, and he鈥檚 told her that if there鈥檚 ever a problem to walk outside, put their double-barreled shotgun on the balcony, and fire off two blasts.

鈥淚 promise you: Whoever鈥檚 coming in is not going to 鈥� you don鈥檛 need an AR-15 [assault rifle]. It鈥檚 harder to aim, it鈥檚 harder to use, and in fact you don鈥檛 need 30 rounds to protect yourself. Buy a shotgun. Buy a shotgun.鈥�

Look, Biden has previously talked about his gun ownership 鈥� he鈥檚 got a double-barreled shotgun and a Beretta handgun, he says. What he鈥檚 trying to do here is make the obvious point that you don鈥檛 have to a military-style assault rifle with a 30-shot magazine to defend yourself, if that鈥檚 what you want. Other firearms would be just as effective.

Somebody once said that the sound of a pump shotgun being loaded is one of the scariest things a criminal can hear. Of course, Biden didn鈥檛 mention pump action 鈥� a double-barrel is a different kind of weapon. But gun discussion forums are full of talk about shotguns and their effective use in home defense. In that sense Biden鈥檚 comment perhaps wasn鈥檛 too far off-base.

And even some conservatives felt that the shotgun answer at least blunted the conspiracy theory that the Obama administration is intent on rounding up the nation鈥檚 private firearms.

鈥淎s goofy as it is, I think this is actually kinda sorta effective at blunting the 鈥榞un-grabbing鈥� critique liberals naturally face whenever they get itchy about 鈥榓ssault weapons鈥�, writes the at the conservative Hot Air website.

But others on the right leaped on Biden鈥檚 comments. Are shotguns easier to use than assault weapons? Not necessarily, as the physical characteristics of both sorts of weapons can vary tremendously. Plus, has Biden really schooled his wife with shotgun tips? His house in D.C. is indeed in a wooded area 鈥� the grounds of the US Naval Observatory 鈥� but it鈥檚 also surrounded by high-level security fences and other devices and guarded by lots of Secret Service personnel who presumably have access to actual fully automatic assault rifles. He鈥檚 got a house in Delaware that鈥檚 not US government property, but at the moment that鈥檚 surrounded by Secret Service, too.

And what鈥檚 with Biden鈥檚 advice to his wife to 鈥渇ire two blasts outside the house鈥� if bad guys appear? As many critics noted, you fire a double-barrel shotgun twice, and it鈥檚 ... empty.

鈥淚f [criminals] did keep coming, his wife would be left with either an empty gun or fumbling for two more shells,鈥� writes the Washington Examiner鈥檚 .

鈥淭ypically, homeowners buy pump shotguns that hold at least three shells and can hold more. Double-barreled shotguns are usually far more expensive and are used in fancy bird hunts,鈥� adds Mr. Bedard.