A St. Paul Minnesota woman is facing second-degree assault charges for shooting her ex-boyfriend after he followed her into her apartment and threatened her. According to the Twin Cities Pioneer Press, 36-year-old Gloria Shalaya Phillips attempted to break up with her boyfriend earlier in the day, but he threatened to kill her if she went to the police.
When Phillips returned to her apartment, he followed her in. She ran to her bedroom, barricading herself inside. Phillips told him to leave the premises twice or she would shoot him. When he began to pound on the door, she fired two 9mm rounds through the door at him, the outlet indicated.
The ex-boyfriend was taken to a nearby hospital in critical condition.
Phillip’s two sons, 19 and 12, witnessed the events unfold. They both indicated their mother was afraid of the man. What’s ironic is that Phillips followed advice doled out by none other than President Joe Biden himself.
Back in 2013, Biden told Field and Stream magazine that gun owners should shoot would-be perpetrators “through the door” as an act of self-defense:
F&S: What about the other uses, for self-defense and target practice?
V.P. BIDEN: Well, the way in which we measure it is–I think most scholars would say–is that as long as you have a weapon sufficient to be able to provide your self-defense. I did one of these town-hall meetings on the Internet and one guy said, “Well, what happens when the end days come? What happens when there’s the earthquake? I live in California, and I have to protect myself.”
I said, “Well, you know, my shotgun will do better for you than your AR-15, because you want to keep someone away from your house, just fire the shotgun through the door.” Most people can handle a shotgun a hell of a lot better than they can a semiautomatic weapon in terms of both their aim and in terms of their ability to deter people coming. We can argue whether that’s true or not, but it is no argument that, for example, a shotgun could do the same job of protecting you. Now, granted, you can come back and say, “Well, a machine gun could do a better job of protecting me.” No one’s arguing we should make machine guns legal.
That same year Biden reiterated the advice, saying double-barrel shotguns are more effective AR-15s for self-defense and shooting a few rounds through a door would deter criminals.
“If there’s ever a problem, just walk out, put that double-barrel shotgun and fire two blasts outside the house,” Biden said during an official White House video. “I promise you, whoever is coming in is not going to.”
“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,” he said. “Buy a shotgun. Buy a shotgun.”
After this video was filmed, multiple Delaware attorneys told U.S. News and World Report that “in Biden’s home state it is only legal to use deadly force if there is reason to fear imminent loss of life. Shooting a gun in the air could result in felony reckless endangering and aggravated menacing charges, in addition to misdemeanor charges.”
Gloria Phillips feared for her life. Her ex-boyfriend allegedly threatened to kill her. She had every reason to fire her weapon, including the imminent fear necessary to use deadly force. If she didn’t use the shotgun to defend herself, she could have been the one on the ambulance stretcher.
Phillips is being punished for defending herself in her own home. She didn’t shoot a gun recklessly outside her home as Biden suggested in the past. She literally utilized her firearm for one of its primary functions: self-defense.
Imagine the charges she’d be facing if she’d negligently fired outside her home and hit an innocent bystander. It’s highly unlikely using “The President of the United States told me this is what I should do” would hold up in a court of law.
