A Vancouver, Washington man, 52 year-old Jeffery Barton, pleaded not guilty to charges of illegal aiming or discharging a firearm at his arraignment in Clark County Court, after firing his shotgun at alleged car prowlers early Monday morning.
As his defense he said " I did what Joe Biden told me to do. I went outside and fired my shotgun in the air."
It is true, as one of the two videos below will show, Joe Biden did publicly recommend that people buy a shotgun and "fire two blasts" when he was being interviewed for Parents magazine back in February 2013.
Biden assured the American public that this is he has told his own wife to do.
“I said ‘Jill, if there’s ever a problem, just walk out on the balcony here … put that double-barreled shotgun and fire two blasts outside the house,’” Biden added.At the time Biden made the suggestion, it was pointed out that in his own state, his advice was deemed illegal, something I am sure poor Mr. Barton in Washington somehow wasn't informed of.
In Delaware, Biden's wife, had she followed her husband's advice, could legally be charged with charged with aggravated menacing, a felony, and reckless endangering in the first degree, according to Defense attorney John Garey.
"It is not uncommon" for people to be charged with crimes under similar circumstances, he said. "I've seen cases where lawful citizens have used guns outside their homes and they end up arrested."
In Washington, as in Delaware, it is also illegal unless there is a self-defense component, along with a life-threatening situation.
In March, another man did the same thing and followed Vice president Biden's advice, and he too was charged.
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| Vice President Joe Biden, left, on Feb. 20, 2013. Jeffrey Barton of Vancouver cited Biden in his defense of a case where he fired a gun in the air |