WASHINGTON (WUSA9) -- Andy Parker, the father of slain WDBJ reporter Alison Parker, joined two organizations lobbying for greater gun control on Capitol Hill on Thursday. The rally is part of National Whatever It Takes Day, which organizers say promotes action to prevent gun violence.
Thursday, Parker told the rally on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol close to the intersection of First and Constitution, NE that "we can, we must, and we will" prevail over opponents of new background check legislation. Parker's daughter and WDBJ cameraman Adam Ward were ambushed and fatally shot during a live television interview last month at a community outside Roanoke.
"If I weren't doing this, she'd be really ticked off at me," Parker said. "She wanted the story. She wanted the story told. She was a journalist first and foremost."
Alison called her father "the coolest Dad in the world." Now, he is determined to make expanded background checks part of Alison's legacy. He believes the shocking murders of his daughter Alison and Ward on live television was a tipping point in the gun control debate.
"She packed in so much in 24 years and it was all perfection," Parker said.
Parker was joined at the rally by Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe as well as Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine. They urged Congress to revisit a failed 2013 vote on legislation requiring background checks for online gun sales and purchases at gun shows.
"I am sick and tired of gutless politicians who are scared of the NRA," Gov. McAuliffe said.
Senator Warner said, "More gun owners support background checks than the rest of the population."
"You can't allow grief to turn into despair," Senator Kaine said.
The rally also brought together mothers despondent that daily lockdown drills are now part of their children's school day.
"I am so angry, I am so angry that Congress cares more about guns than they do our children," Elizabeth Hailesaid.
For now, one day at a time, Parker forges ahead.
"I move on because this is what she would be wanting me to do," Parker said.
Wednesday night, Alison's ashes returned home. Her family will be scattering them on North Carolina's Nantahala River, her favorite place.
Gun violence kills 88 Americans and hurts hundreds more every day, the Everytown Survivor Network said.
Earlier, Sen. Warner took to the Senate floor to pay tribute to the shooting victims.
"Mr. President, it is with a heavy heart that I rise today to pay tribute to the victims of another horrific act of gun violence.On August 26th, a gunman opened fire during a live television interview at Smith Mountain Lake in Virginia.
By now, all of us know that the gunfire killed WDBJ News Seven reporter Alison Parker and News Seven photographer Adam Ward, and the shooting severely wounded Vicki Gardner, a local Chamber of Commerce official who was being interviewed.
I speak for everyone in the Commonwealth when I say our hearts broke for the Parker family – and the Ward family.
We all were pleased to hear this week Vicki Gardner was released from the hospital on Monday. She has a difficult path ahead of her, but she is on the road to recovery.
So Smith Mountain Lake in Virginia now is added to the all-too-familiar, heartbreaking litany: Charleston – Aurora – Sandy Hook – Tucson – Virginia Tech.
And in the days following the shooting on August 26th, it's become clear that Alison Parker and Adam Ward represented the very best of their families, their communities, and their profession.
Friends, family members, and coworkers described both of them as smart, motivated and talented. Each had the unforgettable ability to light up a room.
Alison was relatively new to the business, and my interactions with her were somewhat limited. I do know her folks: her dad has served as an elected official in Southside Virginia's Henry County.
I had a lengthy conversation with him several days ago, and I'll be meeting with him here on Capitol Hill later today.
And I last met Adam Ward, the News Seven photographer, last fall. His family and friends won't be the least bit surprised to hear that I met Adam at a Virginia Tech football game. He posted a photo about our meeting on Facebook.
Vicki Gardner was wounded while performing a job she loved, too – a job she's very, very good at, at the Smith Mountain Lake Regional Chamber of Commerce. It's a job I'm sure she is eager to return to.
We feel like we know Alison, Adam and Vicki because the crime committed against them was so horrible – and the details were reported so widely.
Mr. President, how many more parents must lose their children to gun violence – how many more anxious families must maintain a lonely vigil at the hospital – before Congress moves on commonsense gun legislation?
More than 30,000 people are killed by firearms in this country every year. The last time Congress meaningfully engaged in a debate about gun reform was more than two years ago – after Sandy Hook.
Even after the horrific loss of 20 children and 6 adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, the Senate still was unable to pass responsible, commonsense reforms – reforms like closing the gun show loophole.
Since Sandy Hook, there have been at least 136 school shootings in America – that's an average of nearly one a week.
I'll never forget meeting with families of the Newtown victims during the days and weeks following the tragedy. In their grief and loss, I think anyone would have understood if they had asked for all sorts of gun restrictions.
But they didn't. They had one very reasonable, commonsense request of Congress: universal background checks, to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and those with serious mental illness.
That won't prevent every shooting. It's not a magical fix for violent, disturbed people who are determined to do harm. But it's a start at tackling the epidemic of gun violence.
Mr. President, I'm a supporter of the Second Amendment – always have been. Background checks do not – do not – infringe on the Second Amendment.
This is about honoring the lives of those killed by gun violence, and not turning a blind eye to the grief of their loved ones.
Gun owners understand this. In fact, a greater proportion of gun owners support requiring background checks for all gun sales than do non-owners. In a recent survey, 85 percent of gun owners and 83 percent of non-owners supported requiring background checks for all gun sales.
Reasonable people can disagree about exactly what approach to take – but the facts are not up for debate. Background checks work. And they keep guns out of the hands of those who shouldn't have them.
According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the Brady law has blocked almost 2.4 million gun purchases since its enactment in 1994. Almost 200,000 purchases were blocked in the most recent year in which we have records.
But background checks aren't performed on every purchase. In fact, a significant number of transfers are done with no check whatsoever to determine whether the prospective buyer can legally possess a gun. There is no reason why we shouldn't have a comprehensive background check system on firearm sales.
The Senate came close to making progress on this in the weeks following Sandy Hook. Our colleagues, Senator Manchin and Senator Toomey, worked together to introduce bipartisan legislation that would have expanded background checks for many private gun sales.
It included commonsense provisions which, for instance, would allow a father to pass-along a firearm to a son.
However, this responsible and commonsense proposal fell short – by just four votes.
The cycle of tragedy, followed by outrage, followed by inaction – it's become too familiar. These tragic events are not isolated in any one part of the country: Charleston -- Aurora – Tucson – Roanoke.
Each of them breaks our hearts. We simply should not – we cannot – accept this as the status quo.
We must be not be content at the unwillingness of Congress to enact reasonable reforms to prevent it.
Mr. President: thoughts and prayers are not enough. We must take action.
We can debate how far reform measures should go. But at the very least, we should look for a way to renew the push for more meaningful background checks.
We must do more to make sure criminals and those who are dangerously mentally ill cannot purchase guns.
We must work together to make sure local and state governments have the resources – and place an appropriate priority – on in-putting the correct data into the national background check system.
As recently as the end of June, Mr. President, both Senators Toomey and Manchin indicated they were considering ways to renew their efforts at meaningful background checks.
I want to clearly state today that they will have my full support in this effort.
We must find a way forward – and I urge my colleagues in this body, and our leadership, to join us. I call on my colleagues to work with us to get legislation expanding meaningful background checks to the floor of this Senate before the end of the year.
I can think of no better way to honor the lives of Alison Parker – and Adam Ward – and all the thousands of other American families touched by gun violence.
Mr. President, I yield the floor."
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