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Of all the people currently running for mayor of Seattle, Ed Murray is in the unique position of actually being able to do something meaningful about gun control.

What he can do is vote for it in the state legislature. (Which, unlike the City of Seattle, has power over our state's gun laws.)

Will he?

Before getting into that, Murray talked about his personal reaction to the Newtown shooting. “This is just an incredible tragedy," Murray said. "I think of the parents who are suffering terrible losses. And I think every parent in the country is shocked and scared and hurt. You’ve got to acknowledge that.”

As to the question of whether he will personally vote for gun control in the state legislature, Murray said the answer is a no-brainer: "Yes."

"It’s easy for me to say as a Seattle liberal," he continued. "We need gun control. We need stronger gun control. And then there’s the issue of better mental health care.”

It's also easy for him to say because his constituents have repeatedly been affected by mass shootings over the years. Murray recalled the 2006 shooting at a Capitol Hill house party that killed six people, the shooting at the Jewish Federation the same year that killed one person and wounded several others, and this year's Cafe Racer shooting that killed five people.

“This isn’t the first time," Murray said. “We have an epidemic of gun violence, and an epidemic of untreated mental health issues that often are related.”

But, the obstacle in the legislature isn't just Republicans. “Ultimately, to get the policy issue, the problem is that we have a struggle within the Democratic party to find support for gun control," Murray said. "We can’t even find enough Democrats to support it.”

If he leaves the legislature and is ultimately elected Mayor of Seattle, what would he do in that new position to push the issue forward?

Murray said he would try to "build bridges" with mayors around the state to lobby the legislature.