McPherson: Always Grab the Shotgun

A few weeks ago a St. Louis couple were minding their own business in their own home when a gang of hundreds of BLM/Antifa/Democratic Party thugs broke through a gate at the entrance to their community, trespassed onto private property, and threatened the homeowners, their family, their home – even their dog – with violence. (CNN was on-hand to assure everyone it was a "peaceful protest," while the mayor of Seattle celebrated another franchise in her "summer of love.")

Mark McCloskey and his wife Patricia responded accordingly: They grabbed a couple of guns and met the mob from their doorstep. After a tense exchange of foul language, the crowd moved on, obviously preferring more docile victims. No one was injured.

In a sane world the McCloskeys would be hailed as heroes. Considering the exigency of the moment – forced upon them through no fault of their own – they maintained quite a sound composure. A mob at anyone's door would and should be treated in such manner. But St. Louis's grandstanding wokester prosecutor has decided to persecute them, not the howling scum responsible for creating this dangerous situation, and on Friday police executed a search warrant at the McCloskey home and seized Mark's AR-15 rifle as part of an "investigation." (Robert Francis "Beto" O'Rourke fled the scene of another DUI to shove Chuck Schumer from in front of a TV camera and declare, "Hell yes!")

There's a very valuable lesson to be learned from this and, believe it or not, we can thank that mumbling buffoon Joe Biden for properly educating us. Back in 2013 ol' Joe was answering questions provided by readers of Parents Magazine when he offered up some real wisdom: Asked, "Do you believe that banning certain weapons and high-capacity magazines will mean that law-abiding citizens will then become more of a target to criminals as we will have no way to sufficiently protect ourselves?" a visibly agitated Biden eventually responded,

"If you want to protect yourself, get a double-barreled shotgun, have the shells of [a] twelve-gauge shotgun...I said [to my wife], 'Jill, if there's ever a problem, just walk out on the balcony here, walk out, put that double-barrel shotgun, and fire two blasts outside the house. I promise you whoever's coming in is not gonna' – you don't need an AR-15, it's harder to aim, it's harder to use, and in fact, you don't need 30 rounds to protect yourself."

Thanks Joe, but when facing a mob of hundreds, 30 rounds (and then some) is precisely what Mark McCloskey and his wife needed. And an AR-15 is not hard to aim, or use. Just ask this guy. Had Biden ever spent one day in the military (rather than comfortably protected by tax-payer funded security as he worked tirelessly to victimize Americans for forty years) he would know better; soldiers trained in the use of an M-16 rifle (which functions exactly the same as an AR-15) know that it's very easy to aim and use. Moreover, any responsible gun-owner would advise against "just" firing "blasts outside the house." If you have to shoot, you shoot to kill. Otherwise you shouldn't shoot. Mark and Patricia McCloskey knew that the mere sight of would-be victims prepared to protect themselves is usually sufficient to ward off trouble, and they were right. Had the mob advanced, however, you can bet they had exactly what they needed.

Despite Biden's prodigious stupidity and unforgivable ignorance, he has hit on an important fact here: A 12-gauge shotgun is a very valuable weapon. Faced with a threat it is very effective at deterring and, if necessary, stopping those determined to commit a violent crime. The mistake Mark McCloskey made was coming outside with an AR-15. He should have followed Joe's advice and emerged, alone, with a shotgun. If forced to use it, he then could have retreated to the house under covering fire provided by Patricia, stationed inside at a window and armed with the rifle. Since the situation did eventually resolve itself without bloodshed, no-one would have even seen the AR-15. Just the shotgun. Joe Biden would surely approve.