WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Sen. John McCain was heckled Wednesday night by a South Carolina town hall audience member when he reiterated his support for gun rights in the wake of the Virginia Tech shootings.

The Arizona Republican, who was asked to state his views on gun rights in light of the tragedy, said, "Our hearts go out to all of the victims and their families in that terrible tragedy and that crazy person.  Words are not, I don't have a large enough vocabulary to express how saddening and terrible this tragedy is. So I won't try any further except they know that all Americans prayers are with them as they go through this terrible trauma. I do not believe that we should tamper with the Second Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America."

As the crowd applauded, a woman immediately yelled, "Do you think George Washington stood for automatic weapons?"

McCain responded, "I think that George Washington stood for the right to bear arms which is their constitutional right."

In 2004, McCain voted against extending a ban on several types of assault weapons for another 10 years. The ban expired in September of that year.