U.S.A. –-(AmmoLand.com)- Veteran U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) fell back on her party’s favorite blame-the-guns argument during a debate Sunday in Spokane with energetic Republican challenger Tiffany Smiley, declaring “We need to ban assault weapons, we need to make sure that we have really good background checks.”
The hour-long debate illustrated the vast difference between the 30-year mom-in-tennis-shoes turned career politician and a challenger with a fresh perspective.
Smiley, a political newcomer from eastern Washington, fired back, “Yes, we have a crime issue. We need to ensure that we protect our Second Amendment rights for law-abiding citizens, and that we keep weapons out of the hands of criminals.
“Again, crime is out of control,” Smiley continued, according to a transcription in the Spokane Spokesman-Review, “Senator Murray, you are to blame. … Thirty years in the Senate, and this is where we are. And it’s not just guns, Senator Murray, there’s families who are worried about people on the streets swinging bats. Students at University of Washington, they have to wait for someone to stop swinging a machete around before they can come out of their class. A woman was violently assaulted just walking to lunch in downtown Seattle. And she looked around and she said, “What do I do?” And someone said, ‘Don’t call the cops, because nothing will happen.’”
Importantly, Republican Smiley revealed she has the endorsement of the Washington Council of Police and Sheriffs and the Fraternal Order of Police.
According to Fox News, Murray “was put on the defensive during her debate.” Smiley, on the other hand, appeared to be on the offensive, asserting Murray “went on the Senate floor and she called for funds to be diverted from our police force.”
As reported earlier by Ammoland, Murray has a long record of supporting gun control, including Joe Biden’s “Safer Communities Act” passed earlier this year. She supports a ban on so-called “assault weapons,” calling modern semi-auto rifles “weapons of war” when she recently joined anti-gunner Shannon Watts, in a video.
Murray was at the top of the list of 62 endorsements announced earlier this year by the Seattle-based Alliance for Gun Responsibility Victory Fund. The Alliance is a billionaire-backed gun prohibition group which has also endorsed five Congressional Democrats in Washington: Reps. Suzan DelBene, Rick Larsen, Derek Kilmer, Kim Schrier and Marilyn Strickland.
During her response to the question, “Would you support further steps at the federal level such as reinstating an assault weapons ban, restricting magazine capacity or ghost guns?” Murray invoked the term “gun violence” five times over the course of about 45 to 60 seconds. It sounded like rehearsed, and oft-repeated, talking points.
She asserted, “We need to do everything we can to address the issue of gun violence. One thing I am working on is that we have never done any research on the issue of gun violence and what causes that. Why? Because the NRA, who supports my opponent, says we could not do any research on that.”
Smiley’s reaction included this: “Senator Murray, she has good talking points for Washington, D.C. I’ll go fight for Washington state, for our kids and for your families.”
According to differing polls, Smiley is within a single-digit reach of knocking Murray out after three decades in office. The veteran senator has traditionally been soft-balled by the establishment media, especially in Seattle, but this year’s race is a real contest, as Smiley has been fearless in her challenge. Much of the time, Murray sounds like she is actually running against Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) rather than Smiley, and Murray has also done as other Democrats in Washington are doing by running on abortion rights and staying away from the economy, crime, energy, inflation and other issues important to Evergreen State voters.
In recent weeks, many in the firearms community have wondered where Smiley would come down on gun rights. After Sunday’s debate, the difference between her and Murray is much clearer. Smiley seeks to protect the Second Amendment, while Murray wants to restrict it.
Murray and Smiley are scheduled to appear at a Townhall gathering this coming Sunday, Oct. 30 in Seattle, broadcast live from the KIRO-TV studios beginning at 5 p.m.
Thousands of Washington voters will not be able to watch the event, however, as this is the opening weekend of the elk hunting season in eastern Washington management units. However, Washington votes by mail only, and on a recent trek to the eastside, this correspondent observed dozens of campaign signs for Smiley while not a single Murray sign was anywhere to be seen.
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About Dave Workman
Dave Workman is a senior editor at TheGunMag.com and Liberty Park Press, author of multiple books on the Right to Keep & Bear Arms, and formerly an NRA-certified firearms instructor.
would be nice to see a slide back to reason , armed citizens taking out the trash
Yes it sure wood. I suppose the movie the Purge (as have other’s) was loosely promoting that concept & idea.
As long as we have medical professionals engaged in the following mindset & response I don’t see it turning just yet.
Normal Patient:
I’d like to have my Finger removed.
Doctor:
Clearly you are mentally unwell.
Liberal Barking Moon Bat Patient:
I’d like to have my Penis removed.
Doctor Reply:
Clearly you are an inspiration
When you politicize & FUND $pecial interest groups & abnormal behavior you encourage more of it.
That is exactly what the Turds want. They want a big battle to start but if we were going to engage in such it should have been when they were tearing up the country,everyone’s business and tearing down our history., It’s fine that they put up statues but they must tear our statues down. You don’t have to wonder where the most violence is coming from. Blue states with Governors and Mayors that want to defund the police and turn more criminals out on the street. Then lets let the criminal go without a bond when he commits a crime.… Read more »
gun violence is a straw man argument. we have a criminal violence problem in America with the democrats supporting defund the police, no cash bail, and plea bargaining from progressive d.a.’s.
we DO NOT have a gun violence problem in America. a firearm is an inanimate object that requires human interaction to function, whether for good or evil.
we have a problem with leftists/progressives/demoncrats willingly restricting and attempting to restrict our basic freedoms. no free society would stand for this and the ballot box is the first step. after that comes other less civil measures.
I like her name SMILEY. And not hard on the eyes. I hope she smiles every time she goes on the offense,Like she did there at the end. LOL
Washington votes by mail only? Explains a lot doesn’t it.
It is a “Vote by Mail” state in that we receive a ballot in the mail, but there are in person polling stations where we can still vote in person.
*edited spelling
More than you could imagine. We had popular Republicans stumping for this. Funny part is, they sold it as a more secure voting system after the dimocRAT’s stole, (undeniable), the 2004 gubernatorial election when we used paper ballots. Go figure.
It sure explained how Queen Christeen became governor some years back. In the third “recount” there were some cartons of mailed in ballows “found” in a post office in Seattle area three weeks AFTER the polls were supposedly closed, they were 95%+ for Gregoire, the R’s challenged their validity as they were “received” well after polls closed.. but the bought and paid for court in King County decreed they were legit. Meanwhile hundred of ballots from our overseas military came in just days after, having been delayed in the post, and were rejected. Da t’ing is, with the mailin, there… Read more »
Not gun violence, we don’t call DUI DWI ‘vehicle violence’.
Firearms, vehicles, CNC milling machine, college diploma or bare hands are tools. What the individual uses them for makes the difference.
I hope she sends that useless woman packing her cardboard box after the election.
PROJECT MOCKINGBIRD has been functioning for many years. Mockingbird — IS when the DEEP STATE — TELLS — the MSM what they MUST SAY or include in their news articles, both in paper form, computer form and video form.
This Is why MURRAY needs to go, she has done nothing for the state of WASHINGTON for 30 years, except be a mouthpiece for the DEMOCRATIC PARTY, anyone would be better for the state, I just hope the people of WASHINGTON pull their heads out and realize SHE IS a BIG PROBLEM
Right now Smiley is our only hope in starting the trend to send us back to where we were 45 years ago. You have to start somewhere and for me she is the best thing going on in WA State, at this time. I was hoping and praying for Chief Culp, but Insley has too much money from Soros and China and he is the lynch pin at this time.
It may be off topic, but has anyone else noticed that Republican women tend to be smoking hot and Dims are Joy Bahar clones? Just sayin.
Patty Murray has typified the Progressive New Left in politics. People know what they are getting. They are getting a tie-died version of Cultural Marxism blended with all manner of environmental and social justice magical thinking. If Washington, the place of my birth sides with this kind of thinking they deserve what they get. Is it any wonder Patty responds with long debunked theories on crime and criminals. This ideology is dying but its practitioners refuse to move-on-dot-org from their false premises and spurious conclusions. Guns cause crime. Criminal are victims. Scorn those who work. Subsidize those who live in… Read more »
Dave, a small correction to clear confusion.
Washington does not currently “vote(s) by mail only”. “Vote by Mail” is currently defined in that every registered voters receives a ballot in the mail and can respond by mail or drop box.
However, there are still in-person polling stations available where one can cast their ballot. These are scattered and not nearly as numerous as pre-covid restrictions, but they do exist.
Tell me Rob J, just where exactly is one of these Washington State Polling locations? I live in Grays Harbor County, my daughters live in Kitsap County and there are zero polling locations in either county. I have even tried to deliver my ballots at the Grays Harbor Elections Office only to be directed to a Ballot DropBox outside the courthouse. I saw your second post stating there’s polling locations that you can actually cast a ballot. There are 5. All located in King County or better known as Pugetopolis. Here’s the link. https://kingcounty.gov/depts/elections/how-to-vote/ballots/returning-my-ballot/vote-centers.aspx I don’t think you are being… Read more »
https://www.sos.wa.gov/elections/research/drop-box-and-voting-center-locations.aspx SOS site has the Gray’s Harbor county polling location listed in Montesano on Broadway and Main. As I mentioned, they are few and far between these days thanks to Inslee and his horrid mishandling of our state the last few years. I’m being as honest as I can B. I haven’t seen this year yet, as the polling stations are not open. Who knows, they may close them again this year too and use it as a push to mail only next year. But according to the state they are still available (and used by my father-in-law pre-covid) based… Read more »
Sorry RobJ, but no. Monte is our county seat but we have no polling locations there. I’m there 3 times a week in the elections office started yesterday as a ballot watcher.
Perhaps it was there pre-COVID but not any longer.
It really has devolved as far as I’d feared. I was elated to see there were polling places available on the website, but that seems to be out of date.
Thanks for letting me know. I don’t want to spread disinformation and could only give what was listed via the SOS page (showing a few scattered around).
I did find something….
RCW 29A.40.160 mandates each county auditor to open a polling center. However, this polling center seems to be specific for blind voters. My father-in-law was blind and I drove him to the one in Pierce the last time he voted (Trump/Clinton) before he passed.
So while there are centers available for specific voters, the general public is vote by mail only at the core.
https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=29A.40.160
My apologies to all for my misinformed prior posts regarding Vote by Mail Only here in WA.
*edited spelling and extraneous grammar
Thanks RobJ. I just got back from my shift watching the ballot handling at the GH Courthouse. I asked the election director about the in person voting. The COVIDIOTS made the assistance go away. He was receptive to an idea I have that would improve the efficiency of the mail in system. Quite frankly, the mail in system we use in Washington is more secure than the paper ballots it replaced, no doubt about it. We can track our mailed in ballots online now. The website shows when it was received almost in real time, then after the ballot was… Read more »
That’s a fantastic idea. I knew about the tracing, but knowing our vote was actually counted as cast would go a long way to help alleviate a lot of the fears many have.
Yet even if we had this in place we would still run into the issues that King is famous for and they are usually the deciding county for the state.
It was the late Warren “Maggie” Magnuson or the late Henry “Scoop” Jackson that infamously said, “Every vote needed to win a statewide race can be seen from the top of the Space Needle.” Even back then, the dimocRAT party understood the value of CityStates. It’s only gotten worse until August. Seattle elected a Republican prosecutor! We’ll see soon if that was just an anomaly. The citizens of King, actually all 3 counties that comprises the area I call Pugetopolis, as Mr. Workman has reported previously are leading the state with gun purchases and CCW license applications! In 13 days… Read more »
Same old same old. Ignorant Karen’s taking up a cause & using dis/mis information as fuel for their erroneous fallacious argument. Just cycling one ignorant Karen Barking Moon Bat for another. I’ve learned how to avoid social interactions better than I used too. No sense in arguing with dumbed down idiots who are Limbic brain emotional thinking only. Ask them to teach a child to cook, grow a garden, quarter livestock, track, make a shelter, build a fire, trap, hunt, read, build something, design something etc. & you’ll get the byproduct of continuous failure & excuses & what we see… Read more »
Yes of course & agree. They are empowered by their own bravo sierra. Can’t find a real man to put up with them usually. Seen it so many times in the past I forgot how prevalent it is. When your dumb but think your smart (e.g. Dunning/Kruger Effect/Phenom) or my pseudo intellectualism is as good as your facts/common sense/logic/truth is how we got here today. They typically all check the same boxes & into the same psyches & outcomes in life. FemiNazi’s have been fore warned about since the late 70’s – 80’s via social conditioning/predictive programming indoctrination. We clearly… Read more »
Smiley, a political newcomer from eastern Washington, fired back, “Yes, we have a crime issue. We need to ensure that we protect our Second Amendment rights for law-abiding citizens, and that we keep weapons out of the hands of criminals
Makes me wonder what laws he would support. That would keep weapons out of the hands of criminals.
I worry about people whos say I am for the 2nd BUTT.
Smiley is a wounded veteran spouse. So far she has supported the 2A unequivocally and responds well to inquiry. She is getting raked over the coals in the media and in advertisements. The SCOTUS decision on Dobbs has given the Democrats of this state a stump to fearmonger from, and they have been crying loudly and over any opposition. They have also been stump blasting the January 6th “insurrection” and “MAGA supporters” (ie any candidate in WA who is not Democrat) to the point of brainwashing the public. The display is obviously supported by out of state money as it… Read more »
Oh the Dems are running ads in Pa against our upcoming Governor, trying to tie him to Trump *& the Q conspiracy. They can’t even get the facts straight on the Q info. It’s actually quite humorous. I’m sure it’s all across the US. The media brainwashing. lol
Yeah and isn’t it a shamed. The Sheeple still follow along. I guess the brainwashing is still working as is the dumbing down of our Nation and in our Schools’ continues big time. We really need to get these DIMWIT pieces of DUNG out of office or we will go down the tubes if we don’t. How STUPID does one have to be to put them back in office.Don’t follow the Sheeple. Follow the leaders. If you live in her state vote for Smiley!!!
She really doesn’t have a but….She’s solid on the 2A.
You nailed it. You are a wise man. It certainly is telling who we hang out with and who supports us, if the RAT’s could figure out a super secret hand gesture or something for judicial candidates, they would ban the listing of supporters too. That is the only way we can determine how to vote on judicial candidates in the Soviet of Washington. It’s quite ridiculous actually that the RAT legislature has crafted such tight campaigning regulations for judicial candidates. You cannot ask a candidate how they would rule on a subject, nor can they tell you what they… Read more »