US Vice-President Joe Biden's advice for self-defense: Buy a shotgun, not an assault rifle.

Biden, who is spearheading a push for President Barack Obama's gun control proposals, dispensed this off-the-cuff tip for protecting life and property during an online question-and-answer session on Facebook on Tuesday.

The vice-president has not one but two shotguns that he said he keeps in a locked cabinet at his house in his home state of Delaware, and he has given his wife, Jill, explicit instructions on how to deal with any would-be intruder.

"We live in an area that's wooded and secluded," Biden said. "I said, Jill, if there's ever a problem, just walk out on the balcony here ... put that double-barreled shotgun and fire two blasts outside the house.

"I promise you whoever's coming in is not gonna," Biden said. "You don't need an AR-15 (assault rifle). It's harder to aim. It's harder to use and in fact you don't need 30 rounds to protect yourself.

"Buy a shotgun," he said, lowering his voice almost to whisper.

The vice-president, who is known for sometimes telling long, personal stories in his public appearances, is pushing Obama's plan for curbing gun violence following the December school-shooting massacre in Newtown, Connecticut.

But some of the proposals, including a ban on the sale of assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition clips, have run into stiff opposition from the influential US gun lobby and their advocates on Capitol Hill.

(China Daily 02/21/2013 page10)