Man charged after taking Joe Biden's gun advice
Vice President Joe Biden is known for saying some controversial things, and taking one of his gaffes seriously may have played a part in a Washington state man's trouble with the law.
Following the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary massacre in Newtown, Massachusetts, Biden, who says he has two shotguns at home, advised firing off a shotgun to scare potential carjackers, sharing with an audience the instructions he gives his own wife:
"I said, 'Jill, if there's ever a problem, just walk out on the balcony here, put that double-barrel shotgun and fire two blasts outside the house.' I promise you whoever's coming in is not gonna." [Politico]
Politico reports that 53-year-old Jeffrey Barton took Biden's advice to heart by punching an intruder he found in his vehicle and firing off three shots to scare him and his accomplice away.
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"I did what Joe Biden told me to do," said Barton, who was originally charged with a misdemeanor for illegally discharging a firearm.
Prosecutors have dismissed Barton's original charge, but he now faces a maximum $5,000 fine and up to a year in prison for charges that he obstructed a police officer.
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