WA man refuses to take plea deal in shotgun case, cites "Biden defense"

By Bob Owens | 8:07 AM | November 20, 2013

I’m trying to think of something more idiotic than taking self defense advice from Vice President Forrest Gump, but I’ve got nothing.

A Vancouver man who fired a shotgun in the air to scare off car prowlers has refused a plea deal and says he’s sticking with what’s become known as the “Joe Biden defense.”

Jeffrey C. Barton was at the Clark County Courthouse on Tuesday and had his trial set for March 26 on a misdemeanor charge of illegally discharging a firearm.

The 52-year-old told The Columbian he will not admit any wrongdoing for the incident last July because he was protecting his family, within his Second Amendment right, and following advice from the vice president.

Expect Barton to be convicted.

Bob Owens is the Editor of BearingArms.com. Bob is a graduate of roughly 400 hours of professional firearms training classes, including square range and force-on force work with handguns and carbines. He is a past volunteer instructor with Project Appleseed. He most recently received his Vehicle Close Quarters Combat Instructor certification from Centrifuge Training, and is the author of the short e-book, So You Want to Own a Gun. He can be found on Twitter at bob_owens.