Joe Biden, the most centrist and therefore strongest Democratic contender for 2020, has gone on record with a statement about the Second Amendment that should disqualify him from any position of public trust whatsoever. The following quote is directly from Biden's campaign website and cannot be written off as disinformation or fake news.

Shotgun Joe, who once advised people to discharge shotguns recklessly to frighten prowlers, says, "Ban the manufacture and sale of assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. Federal law prevents hunters from hunting migratory game birds with more than three shells in their shotgun. That means our federal law does more to protect ducks than children." New York's governor, Andrew Cuomo, said similarly in a 2013 speech, "No one hunts with an assault rifle. No one needs 10 bullets to kill a deer."

Both of these gentlemen have told a literal truth with the intent to deceive. Cuomo is literally correct; no ethical hunter would take the shot if he thought he needed more than one bullet to turn a deer into venison. Biden also is telling a literal truth with the intent to deceive; it is illegal in many if not most jurisdictions to hunt birds with any kind of rifle because a bullet that misses can come down literally miles away. Deer and ducks do not, however, invade people's homes at night, rob banks and convenience stores, rape women, shoot up the Pulse Nightclub, Fort Hood, a Black church, or a Pittsburgh synagogue, or go abroad in armed gangs such as MS-13 to terrorize innocent people. Semiautomatic rifles, which Cuomo mischaracterizes as "assault rifles," are extremely useful against violent felons. The laws of most if not all jurisdictions, including New York, permit their use in these situations. Yes, even NY has a castle doctrine: "…the actor is under no duty to retreat if he or she is: (i) in his or her dwelling and not the initial aggressor."

Listen to an Expert, Not Politicians

Massad Ayoob is a nationally-known law enforcement instructor who will be the first person to tell you that use of deadly force is an absolute last resort, as described in his book In the Gravest Extreme. He has testified successfully as an expert witness in numerous defensive shootings. Ayoob's expert testimony against the city of San Francisco is worth sharing with anybody who still believes that ordinary citizens do not need 15-round handgun magazines or 30-round rifle magazines.

Ayoob wrote, "Virtuous citizens buy their guns to protect themselves from the same criminals police carry guns to protect the citizens, the public, and themselves from. Therefore, armed citizens have historically modeled their choice of firearms on what police carry. The vast majority of California law enforcement agencies, including those in the Bay Area, carry pistols with double-stack magazines whose capacities exceed those of the San Francisco ordinance." The affidavit includes several case studies in which a police officer or law-abiding citizen had to fire 15 or more rounds to end a deadly confrontation, or whose life was put at risk because they followed a law limiting them to 10 rounds.

A good question to ask Biden, Cuomo, Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren, Beto O'Rourke, or anyone like them is therefore, "If I don't need a handgun with a 15-round magazine to protect myself from violent felons, then why does a police officer need one?"

Follow Shotgun Joe's Advice, Go to Jail

Remember that Shotgun Joe’s advice on choice of firearms could get people into serious legal trouble. "Joe Biden's Shotgun Advice Could Land Jill Biden in Jail” begins, "Felony aggravated menacing, reckless endangering charges could result from shooting gun in air." A man in Washington State was, in fact, arrested for following then-vice president Biden's reckless and irresponsible advice.

Law enforcement experts meanwhile advise almost universally against firing warning shots regardless of legality. Ayoob warns, "The bottom line is, there are good reasons why police are forbidden to fire warning shots, and why wise armed citizens don’t put the warning shot in their repertoire of defensive responses." If your life is in immediate danger, you must fire at the aggressor and not throw away precious ammunition.

We encourage our readers to call out the Democratic Left's willful dishonesty and incompetence, and lack of fitness to hold any position of responsibility including not only the Presidency for which Biden is clearly unfit, but also House and Senate positions such as those held by Harris, Warren, Feinstein, Pelosi, Nadler, and their ilk.

Civis Americanus is the pen name of an American Thinker contributor who remembers the lessons of history, and wants to ensure that our country never needs to learn those lessons again the hard way.