WATCH: Dianne Feinstein dresses down GOP Sen. Ted Cruz

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) puts Sen. Ted Cruz in his place.

(Image credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

last updated 8 January 2015

Things got testy today when Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) snapped "I'm not a sixth grader" at Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) after he began quoting the Bill of Rights to her during a Senate Judiciary Committee meeting on a proposed assault weapons ban. (The ban made it through the committee thanks to a 10-8 vote along party lines, but faces a much tougher path in the full Senate.)

After Cruz talked at some length about the right to bear arms, and pointedly questioned the California Democrat about the constitutionality of the proposed ban, a visibly annoyed Feinstein said:

I'm not a sixth grader. Senator, I've been on this committee for 20 years. I was a mayor for nine years. I walked in, I saw people shot. I've looked at bodies that have been shot with these weapons. I've seen the bullets that implode. In Sandy Hook, youngsters were dismembered. Look, there are other weapons. I'm not a lawyer, but after 20 years I've been up close and personal to the Constitution. I have great respect for it.

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Keith Wagstaff is a staff writer at TheWeek.com covering politics and current events. He has previously written for such publications as TIME, Details, VICE, and the Village Voice.

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