Slain reporter’s father: We need tough gun laws
The heartbroken father of a reporter who was shot dead on live television says he will push for stricter firearms laws and called out gun control foes, specifically Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump who said mental health was the bigger issue.
“Yes, it is a mental health issue, and a gun issue, and Trump needs to have the guts to realize there is a linkage there we need to address,” Andy Parker told the Herald. “He’s ignoring half the problem.”
Parker’s daughter, Allison, was shot and killed along with her cameraman, Adam Ward, as the two were conducting a live interview Wednesday in Virginia. The shooter, Vester Lee Flanagan II, who later took his own life, was a disgruntled former employee of the station. Parker said his push to tighten gun laws will be in his daughter’s memory.
“This is going to be Allison’s legacy,” he said. “I always knew she was going to be famous because she was a force of nature. She was going to be a rock star, she was going to be known internationally, I just didn’t want her to be known for something like this.
“Her legacy will be cemented if we can bring about some change.”
Parker described himself as a supporter of the Second Amendment, but said he wants to keep mentally unstable people from getting access to handguns.
“I am not trying to take away anyone’s guns,” he said. “Some people who are pro-gun feel that anyone who makes a suggestion to restrict the ability to obtain firearms … they feel that is an assault on the Second Amendment.”
Parker said a number of likeminded advocates already have reached out to him, including former astronaut Mark Kelly. Kelly’s wife, former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, survived an assassination attempt when she was shot in 2011. Parker said Australia, which has enacted strict gun control measures in recent years, could be a model for the U.S.
“Simply put, Australia comes from the Wild West background like we do,” Parker said. “But within seven years, they have done enough to curb the kind of gun violence and activity we are seeing here every day. We don’t have to reinvent the wheel, they have already done it. Why can’t we do it?”
Before pushing for any major reforms, Parker wants to see small steps, such as closing gun show loopholes. More gun control is not going to put an end to gun violence, he said, but it would be progress.
“We all wear a seat belt and there is no guarantee that is going to save your life, but it’s something,” he said. “We all try to protect ourselves.”
Parker said his wife has been
‘Yes, it is a mental health issue, and a gun issue, and Trump needs to have the guts to realize there is a linkage there we need to address.’
— ANDY PARKER, above
doing “remarkably well” in the wake of their daughter’s murder. He says his grief “comes in waves.”
“I know other people have gone through things like this, but you can’t really understand it until it happens to you,” he said. “It is profound, unimaginable grief ... She was the sweetest soul.”