Murray Calls for Gun Control During Debate with Smiley

 "We need to ban assault weapons, we need to make sure that we have really good background checks."--Senator Patty Murray during the debate.

Senator Patty Murray called for more gun control during her debate Sunday with challenger Tiffany Smile at Gonzaga University in Spokane.

The two battled over abortion, with Murray saying she fully supports codifying abortion in WA state, and even at the federal level. Smiley went after Murray's 30-plus year-long career in D.C. saying "She is the image of big government, You are not the mom in tennis shoes anymore.”

 On the issue of illegal immigration, both agreed the system is not working, but while Smiley pointed out the open border is allowing criminals, drugs and other dangerous elements to pour into the US, Murray referred to them as people seeking "political asylum" virtually ignoring the drug and crime element.

Murray's stance on assault weapons is misleading, as automatic, or 'assault' weapons are not readily available to the general public. Citizens, in most cases, are not allowed to purchase automatic versions of-for example- an AR-15.  An automatic weapon repeatedly fires as long as the trigger is held.  A semi-auto requires a pull of the trigger each time a weapon is fired.

Virtually every handgun, rifle, and other weapons capable of holding more than one round or bullet is semi-automatic.

The term 'assault weapon' is an outgrowth of the constant branding of AR-15s and other related firearms by certain media, political, and special interest groups. The military considers assault weapons to be automatic.