In his campaign to reach out to the pro-gun community, Vice President Joe Biden reached out to the most extreme: doomsday preppers.
In an online Google+ discussion on gun violence, a blogger asked Biden how the rights of those who prepare for extreme emergencies aren’t being trampled on with his gun safety legislation. The vice president responded that shotguns would be the weapon of choice.
“Guess what? A shotgun will keep you a lot safer – a double-barrel shotgun – than the assault weapon somebody’s hands who doesn’t know how to use it,” Biden said. “You know, it’s harder to use an assault weapon and hit something than it is to use a shotgun, ok? So if you want to keep people away in an earthquake, buy some shotgun shells.”
“Doomsday preppers” are described as individuals who prepare for societal collapse due to natural, economic or wartime disasters by stocking up weapons, food and other supplies.
During the discussion, Biden also explained his views on the Second Amendment being that individuals have the right to own a weapon for self-defense, hunting and recreational shooting. However, he said he didn’t believe the right is extended to automatic weapons.
“Just as you don’t have an individual right to go and buy an F-15 if you’re a billionaire with ordnances on it, just like you don’t have a right to buy an M1 tank, just like you don’t have a right to buy an automatic weapon, those judgments have been made that there is no societal, no reasonable societal justification or constitutional justification for owning them,” Biden explained.
Biden admitted that new gun safety laws won’t solve all crime, but feels that large-round magazines simply aren’t necessary.
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