Slain Reporter's Father Demands 'Coward' Politicians Take Up Gun Control (Gun Control Reform Grp)
Andy Parker, the father of slain WDBJ journalist Alison Parker, is demanding that politicians restrict access to firearms, saying he will personally become a crusader for this issue if need be.
"If I have to be the John Walsh of gun control and -- look, I'm for the Second Amendment, but there has to be a way to force politicians that are cowards and in the pockets of the NRA to come to grips and make sense -- have sensible laws so that crazy people can't get guns. It can't be that hard," said Parker in an interview with CNN's "New Day."
Walsh created "America's Most Wanted" and became a prominent victims' rights advocate after his son was murdered in 1981....
What generally happens after mass shootings is that politicians offer their condolences but wave off any calls for gun control or other legislative measures. They say it's too soon and not the right time. But with mass shootings happening nearly every week, this sort of response essentially puts the issue off indefinitely.
Parker said Thursday that he doesn't want the country to simply sit back and give him time to grieve. He wants something to be done.
" Politicians) from the local level to the state level to the national level, they sidestep the issue. They kick the can down the road. This can't happen anymore," he said....
"And I know that the NRA, their position is going to be -- I can hear it now. They're going to say, 'Oh gee, well, if they were carrying, this never would have happened,'" Parker said.
"I've got news for you. If Alison or Adam had been caring an AK-47 strapped around their waist, it wouldn't have made any difference," he added. "They couldn't have seen this thing coming. So I don't want to hear that argument from the NRA, and you know that's going to happen. And I'm going to take it on."...
Huffington Post: http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/55df1a3be4b08dc094868b2b?kvcommref=mostpopular
HassleCat
(6,409 posts)Mr. Parker said, "It can't be that hard..." to keep guns away from crazy people. Our ability to identify crazy people and track their movements is almost non-existent. Before the Reagan era, we could at least put crazy people with violent tendencies into a mental health facility for a few days of observation. If they appeared immediately or continually dangerous, we had places to lock them down for a while. Now they just wander the streets, panhandling for money to pay their NRA dues. (OK, let's see how much sputtering outrage I get for that joke.)
NCjack
(10,297 posts)NRA dues money by cutting their meds in half and missing child support payments to the ex? What I mean is that panhandling really reduces the ego. /s/
whathehell
(29,802 posts)The politicians -- at least the RW in the pockets of the NRA -- Don't give a DAMN about the people!
You KNOW we're no longer anything resembling a "democracy" when 93% of the population
wants simple background checks, as they showed after the horrific Newtown massacre, but are denied.
It was bad enough when these senseless shootings occurred a few times a year -- Now they're happening every WEEK!
ThanK God, Mr. WTH and I will retire in a couple of years, because if the situation doesn't change, we're leaving
this place -- It's become INSANE in this country, and I say that as one who remembers when if it wasn't
perfect, but at least bore signs of normality.
Sorry for all the caps, but I'm sure I speak for most when I say we're LIVID about the growing body count
that is due to NOTHING more than the outsized influence of Money and the NRA.
DeepModem Mom
(38,402 posts)whathehell
(29,802 posts)Unfortunately, I have no answer to the question. I thought I'd more or less given up after the Newtown shooting.
I remember my husband and I just sat in all that weekend, too depressed to even bother pursuing the plans we had.
We said, "Well, if they don't pass legislation after THIS, they never will"
and of course, they haven't, which is why we're considering leaving the country
as a last, angry, desperate act -- It's not so much that we personally fear being victims,
it's just that our hearts break when we see so many dying for absolutely
NOTHING other than the moral bankruptcy of the PTB in this country.
Part of me has a tiny bit of hope that the country's reached a tipping point --
-- I'm getting the sense that this last shooting is REALLY pissing people off, but
then again, I've thought that before. I'm out of ideas, seriously
DeepModem Mom
(38,402 posts)most recent one took place on live TV. We'll see if it makes a difference, although children made no difference. Possibly, a tipping point can somehow be reached.
whathehell
(29,802 posts)As I said to my husband yesterday, This country can build and maintain (with our taxes) hundreds of overseas
military bases, but they can't offer its citizens a modicum of safety in a movie theater, or a public street?!
Fuck that shit -- I'm outa here if things don't change.
DeepModem Mom
(38,402 posts)Your posts made me recall that I never thought of gun violence at all during that time. I asked my husband (a serious Anglophile) why England didn't have a gun problem. He said, "They have laws," and he mentioned a couple of them.
You and your husband are doing some sound thinking.
whathehell
(29,802 posts)I've traveled and visited Europe many times, but never lived in another
country for anything close to that amount of time....How long ago was it,
if you don't mind my asking? I'm not an Anglophile, but I can certainly
relate to a sense of relief at not having to consider gun violence so often
As to your husband's comment, yes, we have laws too, it's just that
they're ridiculously lax and ineffective. All European countries have
restrictions on firearms, but I understand that the UK has one of, if not
the strictest in the EU.
DeepModem Mom
(38,402 posts)in London from 2000 to 2005. It was a great experience, made easier, of course, by its being English-speaking. London has so much to offer. I especially enjoyed the theatre and frequent major art exhibitions. Since we knew we were there temporarily, we took many weekend car or train trips to towns and places around England we wanted to see before going back to the US.