This week, conservatives have pointed to the Boston Marathon bombings manhunt to advocate against Massachusetts’ gun restrictions. So it was no surprise that Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace picked up their talking points and used them in an interview with gun-safety advocate Senator Dianne Feinstein today. Feinstein nicely smacked down the argument.

WALLACE: There are some conservatives who say …that when a million people in Boston were forced to stay in their homes, that a lot of those people—particularly in Watertown where they were going door to door and there was a real concern that this fellow might be on the loose, might break into their house, might take hostages—would people like to have had guns?

FEINSTEIN: Oh, some may have, yes. But if where you’re going is do they need an assault weapon? I don’t think so. As the vice president said – 

WALLACE: Shouldn’t they have the right to decide whatever weapon they feel they need to protect themselves?

FEINSTEIN: Well, how about a machine gun then? We did away with machine guns because of how they’re used. I think we should do away with assault weapons because of how they’re used.

WALLACE: Semiautomatics, that’s the most popular rifle in America.

FEINSTEIN: And you could use a 12-gauge shotgun and have a good defensive effect. And there’s the element of surprise.

Now, you’ve got police all over the place in Watertown, so I don’t really think that this is applicable. I think there are people that want to make this argument, but a 12-gauge shotgun, there are many weapons, 2,000-plus weapons that are available to people for choice without an assault weapon.

Transcript via FoxNews.com, with some corrections for accuracy. 

Earlier in the discussion, Feinstein also nicely smacked down Congressman Peter King's suggestion that "the Muslim community" should be viewed with more suspicion and come under more scrutiny now.