Vice President Joe Biden told Americans on Tuesday to "buy a shotgun," instead of an assault riffle for protection against intruders.

"You don't need an AR-15 [assault rifle]," Biden said during a Facebook town hall hosted by Facebook. "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. Buy a shotgun."

Vice President Joe Biden is the head of President Obama's gun task force.

Biden reports keeping two shotguns and shot gun shells in the Delaware home he shares with his wife Jill.

"I said, 'Jill, if there's ever a problem, just walk out on the balcony...take that double-barrel shotgun and fire two blasts outside the house,'' Biden said.

Both President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden have expressed the need for stronger federal gun control laws in the wake of the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.

Federal gun control legislation is highly controversial within both political parties, particularly with the powerful influence of the American gun lobby.

A potential federal assault ban on the sale of assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition clips, similar to law that expired in 2004, has been met with fierce opposition on Capital Hill, which prompted Joe's trigger happy response.

Although Biden's comments are sure to upset some liberal gun control advocates, it is not the first time he has expressed his pro-shotgun approach to gun control.

In January, according to the AP, the Vice President told a Google+ sponsored panel that in an emergency situation like a major earthquake, which could lead to mass chaos, "if you want to keep people alive...buy some shotgun shells."