Father of slain reporter vows to fight for 'sensible' gun control

(Image credit: Jay Paul/Getty Images)

last updated 31 August 2015

On Sunday, the father of slain WDBJ7 reporter Alison Parker reiterated comments he made on Wednesday, saying he would push for gun control legislation. "They messed with the wrong family," he said.

Parker, 24, and cameraman Adam Ward, 27, were shot and killed live on air by a former employee of their Virginia television station. Her father, Andy Parker, told CNN that her family and boyfriend, WDBJ7 anchor Chris Hurst, would "hold the politicians' feet to the fire" in order to enact "real, constructive" legislation that would "get guns out of the hands of people who should not have them." He added: "You always think there's a tipping point. We always thought when Gabby [Giffords] was shot, something would happen; with Sandy Hook, something would happen; with Aurora, something would happen; and it never did."

Parker said he has been in contact with Giffords' husband, Mark Kelly; Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.); and representatives of former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. He said he believes people are tired of the "same old same old" in Washington, and that's why candidates like Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Donald Trump (R) are doing well in the polls. "The difference in this situation is [the feeling has] got to apply to sensible gun control legislation," he said. "Controlling the loopholes in gun shows, doing those kinds of things."

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

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