WBRZ - Baton Rouge

WASHINGTON - Vice President Joe Biden says Americans don't need semi-automatic weapons to protect their homes because a couple of blasts from a shotgun will scare off intruders.

The vice president encouraged those worried about defending themselves to buy a shotgun. He was speaking Tuesday in an online video as part of a Facebook Town Hall hosted by Parents Magazine on the administration's strategy for reducing gun violence.

Biden says he keeps two shotguns and shells locked up in a metal safe in his home. He said he's told his wife, Jill, that if she needs to protect herself, "take that double-barrel shotgun and fire two blasts."