The killing of Virginia reporter Alison Parker and cameraman Adam Ward has created at least one new crusader for stronger gun laws: Parker's father Andy. Wednesday, the day his daughter was killed, Parker
told Fox News' Megyn Kelly that "we’ve got to do something about crazy people getting guns."
“My mission in life… I’m going to do something to shame legislators into doing something about closing loopholes and background checks and making sure crazy people don’t get guns,” Parker said.
Thursday morning, on CNN, he went
a step further:
“Look, I’m for the Second Amendment,” he said. “But there has to be a way to force politicians, who are cowards in the pockets of the NRA, to come to grips and have sensible laws so that crazy people can’t get guns. It can’t be that hard. And yet 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.” [...]
“And I know the NRA, I know what their position is going to be,” he said. “I can hear it now. They’re going to say, ‘Oh, gee, well, if they were carrying, this never would’ve happened.’ Well I got news for you: If Alison or Adam had been carrying an AK-47 strapped around their waist, it wouldn’t have made any difference. They couldn’t have seen this thing coming. I don’t want to hear that argument from the NRA and you know that’s going to happen.”
“How many Newtowns are going to happen? How many Sandy Hooks? How many Alison’s is this going to happen to before we stop it?” he added, listing other recent mass shootings.
Stronger gun laws poll incredibly well, but gun-lovers are more likely to base their voting decisions on a politician's opposition to any gun restrictions whatsoever. That keeps our politicians afraid and our gun laws weak. Will the tipping point, the moment when enough people want stronger gun laws enough to base their voting on it, come on the day when a majority of Americans have been personally affected by a mass shooting? Because the sad thing is, we seem to be heading for that point.