Andy and Barbara Parker (courtesy washingtonpost.com)

“No one piece of legislation or policy change will solve the problem of gun violence. Many actions are needed. But voters need to make clear that there will be consequences for elected officials who cater to the interests of the National Rifle Association and thereby ensure that more parents will experience the kind of loss suffered by the Parkers.” – America has to do more to prevent gun violence [via washingtonpost.com]

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46 COMMENTS

  1. Of course “there will be consequences for elected officials who cater to the interests of the [millions of members of the] National Rifle Association” — they’ll be reelected!

    • While I am sympathetic about the Parker’s tragedy, I am not at all sympathetic at their willingness of allow themselves to be exploited by the media. The get-a-statement-from-the-greiving-parents ploy is a standard tactic for a completely cynical news media whose reporters’ livelihoods depend on getting “the money shot” of the hapless and the grief stricken. Their faux “our thoughts and prayers” unction—always uttered even as their eyes begin searching for the next news lede—have all the sincerity of a used-car salesman promising you a good deal.

    • All they have to do is examine the results in 1994 as opposed to the predictions of leftie looney tunes.

  2. How bout making it clear to politicians that there will be consequences to corruption and lying? Wouldn’t that be a bit more newsworthy considering Hillary?

  3. The NRA will clearly pay the price of the wrath of this couple: more people will join and more people will donate to NRA ILA.

  5. Before his daughter’s body was cold, this creature was on TV revving up his anti-gun crusade. Cold-blooded to the core.

    • ^ This.

      Condolences to the parents that lost a daughter and probably saw video of it happen. Little could be more horrific.

      But I would ask, while the family is going through the stages of grief, that they exercise some discretion where they direct their anger.

      It’s really telling of the mindset of the family that they have to blame something other than who is obvious to blame. It was a person who did this. If they want to blame something general, then maybe focus on the protected classes concept and the sense of entailment bestowed upon them. Clearly the murdered was corrupted partially by that. Perhaps focus on the racial hatred that has been cultivated over the last 6 years. Clearly the murder was partially influenced by this.

    • His daughter’s murderer is dead, the coward robbed him of any justice by taking his own life. This man has nowhere to direct his anger and grief. Guns are an easy, tangible thing that he can vent his rage on. I think this man is misdirecting that anger, and I disagree with him thoroughly, but this is why we have relatives care for us when we lose a loved one: we are not in a frame of mind to think rationally. He lost his child, that would screw up anyone.

    • “Hey. So i just read the card? .. This Is Robbie Parker, err .. I mean .. Andy Parker. My Family was…”

  6. It could be more clearly written, “We don’t have a clue how to fix it so we’re going to pillory any politician that doesn’t do something, no matter how utterly worthless that thing is. ”

    They clearly know that there just might not be a solution to the human condition so they turn around and tell others that they better deal with it or be punished. Ok, so rephrase as “I don’t know so I automatically know better than you and if you don’t cave to my opinion I’ll punish you.” The chords of Dunning-Kruger can be heard chiming in the background. The whole reason we have a system that delegates and divides legislative authority is to temper politics against this kind of idiocy.

  7. Wx hoc ergo propter hoc.

    The interests of NRA had jack squat to do with the murder of anyone’s children, including the child of the asshole they’re talking about.

  8. I don’t even know Mr and Mrs. Parker, but they can both kiss my a$$. I didn’t do anything to them so don’t try to infringe on my rights. As fast as he jumped in the gun control pool I’d have to guess he was already wearing his swim suit and was just waiting for a chance to be famous.

  9. I see two emerging broad-spread threats:
    – animosity against police from minority inner-city communities; and,
    – lone-wolf or small-group jihadis.

    Admittedly, so far, neither of these threats has broken-out into a widespread phenomena. Homicides against police seem to be down a little from last year. There have been only a very few jihadi attacks. Plenty of evidence to be complacent about.

    Nevertheless, I see no reason for confidence that neither of these phenomena couldn’t explode. The fuel is present; the ignition is lit; the environment is relatively conducive. What phenomena exists that makes it improbable that neither of these phenomena would suddenly explode into a conflagration?

    What factors could we enumerate that mitigate against a break-out? I suppose we could think of a few; e.g., no really great organizational network (e.g., something analogous to a Black KKK or an Islamic KKK). After we complete an enumeration such as I imagine, would it be convincing?

    One item on our list ought to be: “There would be a rifle behind every blade of grass!”

    I have two questions with respect to this item:
    – Does it actually influence the disaffected inner-city resident or the Jihadi?
    – Would it actually serve to contain the conflagration were it to break-out?

    The possible answers are: No, No; Yes, Yes; No, Yes; and, Yes, No. In 3 out of 4 of the possible answers, the argument for a well regulated militia is sustained. Perhaps we ought to publicize this line of reasoning.

    Remind our friends and neighbors of the PotG who stood guard – perhaps only symbolically – outside recruiting stations following the Chattanooga attacks. Ask them if they would want their neighbors to muster at their children’s schools in the wake of minority or Jihadi attacks breaking out across the nation.

    We might start a serious conversation.

  10. Pretty rich that the WaPo labels –well, anyone, but in this case, the “gun lobby”– as “disingenuous”, when they fail to mention that none of their proposed “common sense measures” would have been relevant to the Parker case at all. Hell, even that pack of liars at the White House finally admitted that.

    • It’s worse than that. Wa Po actually SAID that it won’t help, and that this doesn’t matter:

      “We certainly don’t know if the gun-control measures that Mr. McAuliffe or other would-be reformers favor would have prevented Wednesday’s deadly attack. But it doesn’t matter. Tragedies such as these remind us of the easy, brutal efficiency that guns bring to the business of killing.”

      https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/more-shootings-more-death/2015/08/26/adc42dc4-4c2c-11e5-902f-39e9219e574b_story.html

      • Oh, great. Then, how about we undertake the disarmament process by beginning with the vulnerable: women; the aged. Let’s deprive these vulnerable people of the “easy, brutal efficiency that guns bring to the business of killing.” That certainly will level the playing field vis a vis the thugs who can’t afford a gun and would prefer to go mono-a-mano with their victims.

        Last, we will disarm the thugs who can afford a gun. But until then, the Progressives can surmise that there will be less death resulting because the vulnerable will be out-gunned by the thugs.

        No thank you; I’ll keep my 2A.

        • Nah! We need to begin the disarmament process with those who do not NEED guns. Those whose extreme physical fitness and martial arts training renders them capable of disarming and dispatching all foes of civilization! Who, in fact, are employed and paid due to their semi-godliness in relation to defense of the innocent! That is RIGHT! You guessed it! Disarm all police, from Andy Griffith to the Secret Service (the ATF is in between) because the agents are so capable, honest and honorable, that it will make no difference! Why is no one pushing that?

          • Hmmmm. There is something in your proposal if only we could figure out a packaging angle.

            #BlackLivesMatter appeals to a certain demographic. Parents who don’t want Jr. shot by a cop with latent tendencies toward excessive use of force. Progressives who don’t want Jr. shot because they don’t think resisting arrest deserves summary capital punishment.

            So, think-globally, act locally. If Mom, Mr. Progressive, you have the courage of your conviction then use your activism in your own neighborhood. Build-up ground-swell support throughout your community to disarm your municipal police force. Look how well it works in Europe! If there is a genuine need for an armed response in particular cases, bring in a select team of specially-trained armed officers. Otherwise, Officer Friendly ought to patrol your beat armed with a padded nightstick and pepper-spray.

            You need to get a conversation going among your neighbors about your own community; the place where you have some chance of influencing the political process. Start in, oh, say, Baltimore. Yes, you have the mayor and the DA fully behind the community. Get your neighbors to persuade their city councilpersons to disarm the city’s police force.

            Can’t get any traction on this one? Oh, well, then just exactly does #BlackLivesMatter really mean? Inquiring minds want to know.

  11. Yeah, in most of the country those that “cater to the interest of the NRA” get elected and those who don’t lose.

    Pauline Karl please call your office.

  12. What has not been wide known is that the father is a Democrat politician who has attempted but failed to win political office and is friends with our anti-gun Democrat governor here in Virginia. He was using his daughter’s death for political gain before her body was cold. He was all over the local news.

    • If you live in a blue state, you may be part of the problem. If you have a (D) after your name, are a liberal, or a rino, THE PROBLEM IS PART-OF-YOU, you are permanently broken, and your mother (one of your five fathers who wears the dress more often) owes us an abortion.

  13. FUPARKERS

    Your broke di<K problems ARE ALL YOURS, KEEP THAT SH_T TO YOURSELF.

    Your daughter got whacked by one of her own, she and her kind breed/clone that cr_P daily. It's a wonder they don't all suffer from more of their own broken-ness.

  14. I notice the parents are wearing ribbons. Is that a new –well, “new”–development? It worked so well on Iran when they were holding the embassy hostages, and stopped the “Atlanta child killer” dead in his tracks, right? I still say if these people would actually tell the truth instead of lie, use real facts instead of hysterical exaggerations, and employ some actual, no-foolin’ common sense, they might actually make some headway some way. Maybe.

  15. Mr. parker:…The lack of makeup is a nice touch, But Don’t you think going sleeveless Interferes with the Anti gun message we are trying to send?

    Mrs. Parker:..No more than that Purple tie , that screams, “Liberal”…with bad taste.

  16. My sympathy lasted until I saw this ghoul a few hours after his daughters death. Game on azzwhole! Would the NRA HAD the power you ascribe…

  18. The Father will be ignored. His rants will be seen for what they are. He will be judged as an emotionally charged person incapable of rational conversation. What father jumps on the mic as he has? What father would discount the many Americans who would have defended his daughters life? It is reasonable to be angry at him for not respecting the Right of other Fathers to protect their daughters from the same fate.

    • Uh, are you forgetting space cadet Giffords? Who jumped right on his wife’s inability to defend herself from his greed, immediately starting soliciting money for (fill in the blank)? Hint: he is rich now.

    • The father of one of the santa barbra murders was on TV for a week or two before that topic got pushed aside for the next BS story of the day

  19. I’m already sick of them. The immediate almost perfect response makes me wonder if the ‘false flag’ accusations are as far fetched as you would want to believe.

  20. Parker should sue the ammo manufacturers and gunmakers, similar to the Lucky Gunner lawsuit. Show us how tough and committed you are, Parker, by putting your house where your mouth is.

  23. I have no sympathy for a crime victim family who wants to take away my civil rights. They are the enemy. I do not care that a racist homosexual black man and former prostitute murdered their white daughter. The killer is dead and that is a good thing. These parents are working to deny freedom to innocent people. They are tools used by large and powerful anti gun civil rights groups.

    How many thousands of dollars will they raise to help take away freedom from people? Will they become part of a law suite like another set of parents did in Colorado? Those parents lost the case. I hope they loose their house for trying to take away the civil rights of people.

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