Opinion By Larry Keane
USA – -(AmmoLand.com)- Move over Shotgun Joe. That was so 2013. Welcome 2019’s Bazooka Joe, who said instead of buying an AR-15, you’re better off buying actual weapons of war.
The former vice president made the comments at a town hall in Las Vegas, just days before the anniversary of the tragic murders there. Biden used the event to call for universal background checks and promote his justifications to ban lawfully owned firearms.
“If you need weapons to protect yourself from the government, you’d better go get an F-15. You’d better buy yourself a fighter jet or a bazooka rocket launcher,” Biden said, according to the Associated Press.
He added, “The idea that an AR-15 is going to protect you from your government — come on!”
Biden said there’s no rationale for owning modern sporting rifles, which are semiautomatic, meaning they fire one bullet for each pull of the trigger. Except the Constitution doesn’t require a reason or rationale for exercising God-Given rights, including the right to keep and bear arms. In fact, the Second Amendment was explicitly included in the Bill of Rights so we, the people, could resist a tyrannical government like the British crown that took as their first hostile act against Americans the seizure of their guns and powder. I imagine the Founders would find it more than a bit troubling to hear the talk of confiscating firearms from the People.
Never mind that these rifles are used for lawful self-defense, recreational target shooting and hunting. This isn’t the first time Biden’s gift of gab was as well-versed on guns as Elmer Fudd.
‘Buy a Shotgun’
In 2013, he infamously said during a Facebook townhall meeting an AR-15 isn’t a good home defense firearm, but instead advised his wife, Jill, to “buy a shotgun” and blindly “fire two blasts” into the air. Aside from being illegal (and people went to jail invoking the ‘Joe Biden defense’), it is incredibly irresponsible and false on its’ premise that the modern sporting rifle is hard to aim and shoot and therefore not suitable for self-defense.
Amy Swearer, Senior Legal Policy Analyst for The Heritage Foundation, testified before Congress and included an instance in Georgia where an AR-15 owner used his rifle to defend himself and others against armed teens.
“Ironically, the rifle deemed an assault weapon by many in this room was used defensively to protect innocent people against assault, while the perpetrators used a ‘non-assault weapon’ offensively to commit actual assault,” Swearer said to the U.S. House Judiciary Committee.
Swalwell Playbook
Biden’s stance on modern sporting rifles grew more radical as he threw his name into the presidential ring. He went from supporting a ban on AR-15-style rifles to supporting confiscation. He took a page from U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell’s (D-Calif.) plan to forcefully grab up lawfully-owned semiautomatic rifles. That didn’t sound radical enough, so he took the next page too. Swalwell said that if AR-15 owners possessed their rifles to protect themselves from the government they would face a government ready to use nuclear weapons on its’ own citizens. Needless to say, Rep. Swalwell dropped from presidential primaries early.
But Biden liked the arguments – both confiscation and the government taking up arms against its’ citizens. So much in fact, in August, he adopted saying then that AR-15 owners were better off buying F-15 strike fighters.
Bazooka Joe, though, now is throwing rocket launchers in the mix.
It’s interesting that politicians who are so used to indiscriminately and casually throwing verbal bombs are also so interested in telling serious, thoughtful and law-abiding Americans how they plan to limit their rights – through force if necessary.
About National Shooting Sports Foundation
The National Shooting Sports Foundation is the trade association for the firearms, ammunition, hunting and shooting sports industry. Its mission is to promote, protect and preserve hunting and the shooting sports. Formed in 1961, NSSF has a membership of more than 10,000 manufacturers, distributors, firearms retailers, shooting ranges, sportsmen’s organizations and publishers. www.nssf.org
The man is a walking talking Moron.
And sometimes he can’t even talk right.
WILL SOMEBODY PLEASE GET THIS MAN AN ALZHEIMER’S CHECK??
Yes, Green, but don’t forget, just because he may be stupid, that does not preclude his also being a criminal. It’s a matter of public record that he extorted a $600,000 salary for his equally useless and devious son and then threatened withholding aid from Ukraine if the investigator of that original crime weren’t fired. And then he even bragged about that in a speech. Of course, in spite of the public evidence, the mainstream media will not report it. And even worse, a large portion of the voting public in America, doesn’t care.
@ Bowserb46
Sad but true.
I don’t want a F-15, I want an A-10 Warthog, or just the machine gun from one mounted by my front door.
Oh please, oh please let him be the Dimocrat nominee.
Many of these political mimbeciles are walking around with undiagnosed mental problems.
Been saying that to people for years, seeing them when they talk on tv you can tell they shouldn’t be in the positions they hold. My favorite is Pelosi, that nut job looks like she’s on some type of serious drug or drugs. Watching her talk is like watching a crackhead that just took a hit.
Another politician threatening us, what the hell and how do they think they can do that. This old dependant needs to be physco evaluated to see just how much of his gafs are sincere. Someone needs to deploy the red flag law on him, a perfect example of the need for one. The worst president in our history won’t even endorse him and he worked with him for 8 years.
The Germans filed a petition during WWI from what I read asking that shotguns be banned on the battlefield because of the horrific and catastrophic results of their use in the trenches. I’ll keep my AR15 and 30+ magazines thanks Joe.
The petition was refused because the Germans had uses poison gas and flame throwers against opposing armies and civilians.
On 27 September 1918, Sergeant Fred Lloyd, single-handedly, took a town occupied by Germans with a Model 97 shotgun. In some cases, the Germans threw down their guns and RAN!
Joe doesn’t know you can buy a bazooka. Google bazooka for sale and click on the hit for
U.S. Army M9A1 ‘Bazooka’, Destructive Device
Rock Island Auction.
Yes, most armaments are “allowed” when the government gives us permission, including tanks and aircraft. I asked an anti one time that if we are not allowed these “military” armaments, how does the government get them, since most are made by companies, not the federal government. So obviously the government must “allow” people to design, build and test the armaments that are then sold to the government. The anti couldn’t grasp the concept, or at least would not acknowledge that, since if the truth goes against one’s irrational beliefs, you must purge the notion from your mind and soul or… Read more »
@Heed, yeah, the government has inspectors examine every implement before accepting it pursuant to the purchase contract. If the thing does not pass inspection it remains the property of the manufacturer until it does pass. So all these implements are Constitutionally owned, before the thing becomes the property of the DoD. Good point!
Hey Joe: It costs around $25,000/hour to fly an F15. Those of us out here in flyover country can’t afford that. I guess I’ll stick to my MSR.
ONLY the Second Amendment has an ORDER demanding it be left alone. The words “..shall not be infringed” have NOT changed in meaning for a thousand years. Just because some communist democrat activist ‘judge’ says ‘gun control laws’ are constitutional, DOES NOT make them so. THAT is why you were supposed to read, speak & understand the English language. THAT is why you were supposed to have read the Federalist Papers. THAT is why you were supposed to VOTE. After all, THAT IS WHY WE HAVE A SECOND AMENDMENT! The American People refuse to take ownership of their governments and… Read more »
A “bazooka rocket launcher”?! Must be one of those Skunkworks projects that we won’t be made aware of for another 20 years.
Joe your hyperbole would be humorous, but it’s rude to laugh at a developmentally-disadvantaged person like yourself.
Not too long ago another republican said he was going to run, haven’t heard anything about him since. Just curious if anyone knows what’s going on with him.
@Stuck, Here are the betting odds on each candidate that is running: https://electionbettingodds.com/4hr.html
@ Wild Bill, Interesting odds. Most are less than 1% and that fits them perfectly.
Hey Tcat! Yeah, I don’t know how they figure that out, but there it is for what ever it is worth!