we begin with andy parker. he is the father of alison parker, the journalist shot dead in august while on the air in roanoke, virginia. since her death, andy parker has vowed to do whatever it takes to end gun violence. he joins us from his home in collinsville, virginia. andy parker welcome to democracy , now! of course our condolences on the death of your daughter. can you talk -- >> thank you, amy. amy: can you talk about alison today? >> of course. i can talk about alison any day. what people saw on television was who she was. she was bubbly, bright, would light up a room. she made everyone feel comfortable. she was accomplished at just about -- well, not just about, everything she did, everything she picked up she was terrific at it. probably more of a live in 24 years than most people do in a lifetime. a force of nature, and she really was. i think she has become an iconic figure in this struggle that we're undertaking. juan: and that day that you heard the news of the shooting? amy: where were you, andy p

we're talking to andy parker, the father of alison parker who was killed on air in roanoke, virginia. she worked for wdbj along with her cameramen adam ward when they were broadcasting live, by a former anchor on that network or former reporter on wdbj. we will be back in a minute. ♪ [music break] amy: this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. the issue of gun regulation is emerging as a hot topic in the presidential or on the presidential campaign trail. on monday, democratic presidential hopeful hillary clinton vowed to curb gun violence. quite it is a leading cause of death for young african-american men. the second leading cause for young hispanic man, the fourth leading cause for young white men. violenceemic of gun knows no boundaries, no snow knows no any kind -- limits of any kind. and when this happens, people are quick to say that they offer their thoughts and prayers. that is not enough. how many people have to die before we actually aren't? before we come together as a nation? ideally, what i would love to see is gun owners respon

andy parker joins me now. andy, i can't imagine sitting in your shoes, especially this week following the oregon mass shooting. we just heard from the father of the gunman, and he said, and i will paraphrase here, not an exact quote, but being asked about gun violence in this country and what has to happen, he said it has to change, it has to change. how can it not, and he talked about, you know, the guns being the killers and killing people. what did you make of that interview? >> well, poppy, he gets it. he's got it right. my question would be, where was this kid's mother in all of this, because the guy said he was, you know, that he didn't live with them, and, you know, it's -- this is a reason why we have to do sensible gun legislation, to make changes, because part of it is it's obviously mental health, but we have to make up for bad parenting. that's one reason why we have to do this, because there are a lot of bad parents out there. >> i want to play you some sound from earlier this week, chairman of th

. >> andy parker, we just heard from kristen brady, that she doesn't know if some classmates of hers may have been lost. this is news that will be -- will probably take 24 hours or so to get through to the entire community there about exactly who's been lost. when it happened to you and it's so fresh in all of our months because it's just months ago that it happened to you with your daughter, you became a gun safety activist fairly instantaneously. what was your reaction to what we heard the president say tonight about this? >> well, he was absolutely correct in that, you know, your heart goes out to the families. and my heart breaks for them. but there has to be an outrage. and my second emotion was, i'm outraged that this has happened again. we're at war. this is like domestic terrorism and politicians do have to be held accountable for it. virginia is very unique in that we have off-year elections and i've joined every town for gun safe temperature. and i'm going to be working to kick the politicians out to toe the line that have blood on their hands because they're in the pockets

. >> i'm andy parker. my daughter alison was a journalist that was murdered on live television, and that's why i have joined this effort to change things in this country, because we are at war. we have domestic terrorism. and through our grief, we take action. and the first thing i would do would be to impress upon the people that are pro gun that we're not trying the take their guns away. we're not trying to repeal the second amendment. we can't do that. the nra pumps millions and millions of dollars into campaigns, and it is all coming from gun manufacturers with the extreme portions and factions of the nra and the gun lobby, there is no middle ground. i'm going to b b going out with the governor t call out these cowards that are blocking legislation to do sensible gun legislation. i believe that if we are successful, and i think we willll be, virginia's going to be the model for 2016 for the rest of the country, and they can look to this state to see change coming. >> pelley: the view of andy parker, th

. >> andy parker says we have to find the answer to gun violence and do something no matter what thesays. his daughter alison parker a reporter was killed by a gunman on august 26th, andy parker joins me now. andy, every time there is a shooting like this, people say they hope and they prayer it's going to be the last time. i got to ask you as a dad, what went through your mind when you heard about this? >> well, anderson, thanks for having me. it was like a punch in the gut initially and then, you know, it was immediate heartbreak and sorrow for these kids and then it for me quickly turned to just outrage that this kind of thing just keeps happening, it keeps happening and, you know, i'm glad that the president addressed this. it sounded like he was interesting to my interviews in the aftermath immediately after my daughter alison was killed because it's coming from my playbook. it is politics. >> you wrote an op ed today called it quote war between rational people, interested z zellots and war in black and white. >> it is a war against good and evil. we have in essence domestic te

parker is right. andy is right.f you are not part of the solution, then you are part of the problem. and i think and believe that my son and andy's daughter would not be dead today if we had taken steps after sandy hook and made common sense changes in our gun laws to reduce gun violence. there is not one solution that will prevent every shooting. we've got to do better in this country to prevent senseless gun violence and to throw up our hands and to allow politicians to get away with throwing up their hands and saying well there is nothing we can do is -- is just wrong. and it is a disgrace that we haven't done more in this country after sandy hook. all those six, seven-year-old kids were shot dead in their elementary school. and we it is a country didn't do anything. we have a moral obligation to protect our family. >> andy, in an op ed for u.s.a. today published this morning you wrote quote we are engaged in a war in this country. a war between rational, responsible people and self interested zealots. a war betw

. >> i'm andy parker. my daughter alison was a journalist murdered on live television and that's why i've joined this effort to change things in this country because we are at war. we have domestic terrorism and through our grief we take action. and the first thing i would do would be to impress upon the people that are pro-gun that we're not trying to take their guns away. we're not trying to repeal the second amendment. we can't do that. the nra pumps millions and millions of dollars into campaigns, and it's all coming from gun manufacturers with the extreme portions and factions of the nra and the gun lobby, there is no middle ground. i'm going to be going out with the governor to call out these cowards that are blocking legislation to do sensible gun legislation. if we are successful, and i think we will be, virginia will be the model for 2016 for the rest of the country and they can look to this state to see change coming. >> the view of andy parker, the father of reporter alison parker. >>> we have i

. >> andy parker, we just heard from kristen brady, that she doesn't know if some classmates of hers may have been lost. this is news that will be -- will probably take 24 hours or so to get through to the entire community there about exactly who's been lost. when it happened to you and it's so fresh in all of our months because it's just months ago that it happened to you with your daughter, you became a gun safety activist fairly instantaneously. what was your reaction to what we heard the president say tonight about this? >> well, he was absolutely correct in that, you know, your heart goes out to the families. and my heart breaks for them. but there has to be an outrage. and my second emotion was, i'm outraged that this has happened again. we're at war. this is like domestic terrorism and politicians do have to be held accountable for it. virginia is very unique in that we have off-year elections and i've joined every town for gun safe temperature. and i'm going to be working to kick the politicians out to toe the line that have blood on their hands because they're in the pockets

andy parker joins me now.ndy, every time there is a shooting like this, people say they hope and they prayer it's going to be the last time. i got to ask you as a dad, what went through your mind when you heard about this? >> well, anderson, thanks for having me. it was like a punch in the gut initially and then, you know, it was immediate heartbreak and sorrow for these kids and then it -- for me, it quickly turned to just outrage that this kind of thing just keeps happening, it keeps happening and, you know, i'm glad that the president addressed this. it sounded like he was listening to my interviews in the aftermath of immediately after my daughter alison was killed because it's coming right from my play book. what i've advocated from the get-go, it is politics. >> you wrote an op ed today called it quote war between rational people, interested zealots and a war between good and evil. to you it's that black and white. >> it is a war against good and evil. we have in essence domestic terrorism right here and

. >> i'm andy parker. my daughter alison was a journalist that was murdered on live television, and that's why i've joined this effort to change things in this country, because we are at war. we have domestic terrorism. and through our grief we take action. and the first thing i would do would be to impress upon the people that are pro gun that we're not trying to take their guns away. we're not trying to repeal the second amendment. we can't do that. the nra pumps millions and millions of dollars into campaigns, and it's all coming from gun manufacturers, with the extreme portions and factions of the nra and the gun lobby there is no middle ground. i'm going to be going out with the governor to call out these cowards that are blocking legislation to do sensible gun legislation. i believe that if we are successful, and i think we will be, virginia's going to be the model for 2016 for the rest of the country and they can look to this state to see change coming. >> the view of andy parker, the father of repo

. >> andy parker, thank you so much for joining us. we heard president obama say in his comments on thursday evening that this nation has become numb to mass shootings. talk to me about how you and your family are doing on a day like this. my heart breaks for these families. it rips your heart out. my second reaction is my outrage is that this continues, this domestic terrorism, if you will, this cancer on our country continues to go on and people -- i think people are finally having enough of it. i have to think that -- because we have mobilize a number of -- thousands of people after allison was killed. and i think that there is the tipping point that people are finally saying, you know what, we have to do something. and the president was right. we have to politicize it. and that was what i'm doing -- that's what i'm doing right now. they have blood on their hands. . i'm going to hold them accountable and call them the cowards that they are and i think the american people are going to do the same. >> what do you say to the likes of r

. >> i'm andy parker. my daughter alison was a journalist that was murdered on live television, and that's why i've joined this effort t becaususwe are at war. we have domestic terrorism. and through our grief we take action. and the first thing i would do would be to impress upon the people that are pro gun that we're not trying to take their guns away. we're not trng to repeal the second amendment. we can't do that. the nra pumps millions and millions of dollars s to campaigns, and it's all coming from gun manufacturers, withhe extreme portions and factions of the nra and the gun lobby there is no middle ground. i'm going to be going out with the governor to call out these cowards that are blocking legislation to d dsensible gun legislation. i believe that if we are successful, and i think will , virginia's going to be the model for 2016 for the rest of the country and they can look to this state to see chchge coming. >> the view of andy parker, the father of reporter alison parker. >>> we have important

why a local state senator thinks andy parker has gone too far. >>> a d.c. police officer accepts a danceoff challenge. the video is getting a whole lot of attention on social media today and that includes attention from president obama. >>> well, it is a sign of the times justmonths after d.c. voters approved recreational marijuana, people are now actually building homes with marijuana grow rooms. in fact, one of the first with a grow closet was just sold. news 4's mark segraves is just back from checking out the new home. mark, what goes into this closet to make it a grow room? >> other than a marijuana plant, you have the hydroponics. you have the water and irrigation and a drainage system. there is electricity so there's monitors for temperature in there. there's the lighting and also an exhaust fan to take the smell out of the marijuana plant out of the building and through the roof. so all of these things go into it. they all meet code and they all had to be inspected and that's how you end up with a marijuana grow closet. >> what are the chances that

that after the father of slain allison parker sent this message on facebook to senator bill stanley. andy park certifyer is upset over stanley's progun stance. >> i think andy needs to be smarter with what he says. i had to call him the day his daughter was killed. i had to call the ward family. i want to be the last to go through this. it's a horrible tragedy. obviously -- but -- identify called the police every time someone went online and said much worse than i will be your worst nightmare i would spend all day on the phone. >> there is no word from andy parker tonight. he is not talking. no word on what action if any place will take against him. >>> these dogs now ready for duty after the break. how they plan to keep maryland safe. >> the new england pats look to stay undefeated thursday night. coming up dave owens will have a preview on why they will pay close attention to this game. i'm jill mccabe, candidate for state senate, and i sponsored this ad. all the mouthwash in the world won't help dick black. because what comes out of his mouth is just offensive. black said gays and lesb

andy parker has been pushing for stricter gun laws since his daughter allison was shot and killed in roanoke in august. the state senator in the district says he threatened him on facebook with a private message saying in part i'm going to be your worst nightmare and we blurred out the end of the message because it contained some profanity. >> this is beyond the pale. this is insanity and as much as i know mr. parker is grieving and i feel for him this is something he should not have done. >>> andy parker did not deny the private message came from him, but it was no threat. he told our broadcast partner that he believes senator stanley is using the incident for political gain. >> it's the latest am entity for new homes in the district, marijuana grow closets. our mark segraves has a condo that comes with a high-tech closet for growing plants. >> while marijuana is legal to have and smoke in d.c., you can't buy or sell it so lots of people are growing their own. they're attracting huge crowds so it shouldn't be a surprise that developers are getting into the action. this is one of the

earlier this week, we heard from it andy parker calling for more gun control laws. his daughter alison and fellow journalist adam ward were shot to death in the summer. tonight, another view from a gun rights organization. >> i'm larry pratt, executive director of gun owners of america where we have advocated, really ever since columbine, that the problem of mass murder in this country is the gun-free zone. we have a federal law that says that schools must be gun-free zones unless a state goes through an enormous amount of trouble. all but two of the mass murders in our country have occurred in gun-free zones, even while our violent crime rate has been going down, more americans are owning guns but not in gun-free zones. an armed citizen, a good guy with a gun, is the way you stop a crime. when there's a bad guy with a gun, he stops when a good guy with a gun is around. and until we kind of deal with that basic fact and we insist on disarming good guys, we're going to give the advantage to bad guys. gun owners of america has supported a measure that's been in the co

. >> reporter: but andy parker whose daughter alison was shot and killed on live tv in august disagrees. >> every country in the world has people with mental health but we do have the market cornered on people with mental health issues that can have access to guns. that's the common denominator. >> reporter: the president is considering an executive order to expand background checks for gun buyers allowing him to buy pass congress. the white house is expected to make a decision soon. in the newsroom, andria borba, kpix 5. >> later this evening the president arrives in san francisco after a fundraising stop in seattle. he is going to be staying at the fairmont so security is already set up, barricades are in place. tonight the president will be part of a democratic national committee roundtable. that will take place at a private home in san francisco. then tomorrow, the president appears at a democratic fundraising concert featuring kanye west. that takes place at the warfield theater. the appearance comes six years after mr. obama called out kanye for interrupting taylor swift's accepta

. >>> the richmond times dispatch says andy parker sent a message to william stanley jr. via facebook saying, i'm going to be your worst nightmare. he's the father of alison parker. the senator said he reported there threat to capitol police. >>> a reward for information on the hit and run driver who killed an area marine is now up to $4,500. corporal william ferrell was likely hit by a heavy-duty pickup truck. he was helping a stranded driver when he was hit the night of september 29th. authorities believe the truck will have damage of its passenger side. >>> 6:18. they're vowing to post names. in nosh the kkk vowed to verbally attack protesters. >>> more fallout this morning in the jared fogle scandal. federal prosecutors say they have obtained reporterings of the former subway spokesperson talking about sexua encounters of children. she also handed those recordings over to a daytime talk show host. authorities say they were not part of the initial investigation but they did take the recordings into account before charging fogle. he has pleaded guilty to pornography and

andy parker jones us now. mr. ker, it is so tragic that we need to talk to you again about something like this but here we are. i can't believe it's only been a month, actually, since your daughter was so brutally killed, something that the whole country was shaken by. and you said then that you would make it your life's mission to try to fight gun violence. what was yesterday like for you as you heard the news of what happened at this school? >> well, alisyn, it was like a gut punch, again. and my heart broke for the families out there. and it quickly then turned to just absolute rage, because i can't believe that this is continuing. i think the president pretty much nailed it yesterday by saying that we have to politicize this. certainly there are -- there's the mental health component, the hipaa laws that are blocking efforts to identify people that are mentally disturbed but the common denominator here is the two ea too easy access to guns. that has to change. we have to call these politicians out that are taki

diane: andy parker whose daughter was shot and killed on live tv in august disagrees. >> every country in the world has people with mental health. we have the market cornered on people with mental health issues that can have access to guns. that is the common denominator. diane: the white house says the president's visit is intended to comfort the survivors and the families. leon: abc7 cameras on the scene this morning when a drone landed on ellipse near the white house. secret service agents and the park police officers there fanned out to investigate after it land and they found howard solomon iii of b.c. saying he was trying to take picture of the washington monument when the winds carried the drone across the street. police confiscated the zone and slapped him with $85 fine. alison: meanwhile, down the street on the ill, a bit of leadership almost bow, to -- leadership limbo. the republican party in search of a speaker of the house. the heir apparent dropped out of the race and the push appears to be on to draft another person for the position. >> paul ryan answered the call when h

andy parker wrote this. we are engoinged in a war in this country.ween national, responsible people and self-interested zealots. a war between good and evil. it's a war to decide whether we will continue to let the senseless tragedy of gun violence continue. it goes on to talk about the 30,000 families who lose loved ones to gun violence each and every year. i talked to andy parker just two weeks after his daughter's death in this town hall there in washington, d.c. with 40 people. so-called members of a club that everyone will join. all people touched in some form or fashion by gun violence. >> you have been so vocal since. have you had a chance to grieve? >> brooke, i have had plenty of chances. it comes in waves and it's like a roller coaster, but it's doing this and trying to do something without making a change that's really kind of kept me from just completely going to pieces. time heals, but there's always going to be a hole in my heart and my soul has been ripped out. this is what keeps me going. >> i hear you talk about gun legislation. you

it features andy parker, the father of the roanoke reporter shot to death in august as she did a live report. >> politicians' condolences are aren't enough. both sides are defending the big money effort. republicans are using the i-66 toll issue in parish's race and several others and they're expressing voter concerns about the tolls. >> a $17 toll without one new mile being built is outrageous. hal parish says he's heard from voters going door to door. >> this is something i've thought about well, and i've said i can't support it. >> governor mcauliffe says the gop ad is mislead, but he's more focused on trying to ensure at pike victory giving him a prominent role for the primary of hillary clinton. >> need one seat to get control of the senate and all of the things i talk about today to help build the virginia economy. he's opposed to tolds on i-66. he welcomed the focus on gun control. >> it's important. it's important to change the discussion and not just have folks who cow tow to the same messaging. >> i'm julie carey, news 4. >>> an elite commando killed in an operation and more

advocate against gun violence, and this is sadly, once again, a recurring story, where, you know, andy parker just recently, the television reporter, who was shot dead live on television with her cameraman, he has been very vocal. he writes op-eds regularly. he goes on television. he's demanding stricter gun control. he's part of the group, every town for gun safety. is this the kind of thing that you find solace in, as well? have you also joined this group of activists who have had to suffer through tragedy, unwillingly, and now want to see an end to it through this kind of advocacy? >> definitely, i'm also part of that group, every town for gun safety. it's a wonderful group. we have a number of different gun violence survivors who have been able to come together and support each other, and work together to demand change. and yeah, for me, i -- it's something that i had to do. my mom's death was not an accident. it shouldn't have happened. and i wasn't willing to accept the fact that her death would be for nothing. so, that's why i'm doing this. i am determined to change something. and i co

. >> andy parker, whose daughter allison was killed on live tv in august disagrees. >> every country in the world has mental health, but we have the market cornered on people that have mental health issues that can have access to guns, that's the common denominator. >> the intention of the president's visit is simply to comfort survivors. >> a drone crash near the white house landed two people if trouble with the law. it happened overnight. police say the two people involved were given citations and this is not the first time that a drone has ended up near the white house. back in may, the secret service caught someone flying a drone right out front. prosecutors say a local man wanted to carry out a twisted murder-for-hire plot, but it didn't work. >> next at 6:00 p.m., who the man wanted dead, and how feds worked to stop it. >> plus, uber now facing its first federal lawsuit. what boston mayor marty walsh is calling on lawmakers to do as soon as possible. >> sarah: i'm tracking showers and thunderstorms right now. in faculty member, i'm going to show -- in fact, i'm ready to head ou

. >> today this ad targeting parish begins airing and it features andy parker, the father of the roanoke reporter who was sthot death. >> the ad is part of a $1.5 million investment and the bloomberg group every town is in the race on behalf of democrat mcpike and they recently held a rally for his campaign. as a volunteer firefighter he says he's seen the gun violence. >> it's important to speak something that has real meaning to them. how he well understands the fear and terror gun violence can produce. >> his son was a senior at virginia tech when 32 students and faculty were killed. >> i want to work on trying to make sure that people who shouldn't have guns because of the mental health issues. i want to work on that. >> reporter: virginia republican leaders called the bloomberg ad buy an act of desperation. >> they have an out of state bully coming in and dropping 700,000 on's race because they know that we were ahead and most likely to have our own senate. >> that the have their own hot-button issue that's getting lots of traction. their ideas of tolls and what they're saying in th

. >> but andy parker, whose daughter allison was shot and killed on live tv in august, disagrees. >> every country in the world has people with mental health, but we do have the market cornered on people with mental health issues that can have access to guns. that's the common denominator. >> the white house says the intention of the president's visit is simply to comfort survivors and victim's families. in washington, diane ghali gero reporting. -- gallagher reporting. >> an everett man is accused of trying to set up a murder-for-hire. how the feds caught him. >> elizabeth: heavy downpours and gusty winds. the latest timeline on when we finally dry out, ahead. >> joy: also ahead, a school study with a surprising suggestion. why researchers say kids should not start kindergarten until they're seven years old. how the two extra years could change a child's mental health. >> but first, parents concerned after classes were cancelled in newton when two people were exposed to deadly levels of carbon monoxide. up next, school leaders tell fox 25 what they're going to do you're watching the

andy parker tragically lost his daughter alison when a gunman opened fire during her live tv report. issing injoining us now. i appreciate your time very much. so first i want to begin with comments that hillary clinton made today as she unveils her new plan in terms of fighting guns. she says it would contain a comprehensive federal background check legislation, it would tighten rules covering gun show and internet sales using executive actions if congress will not act. she would repeal a law that prevents crime victims from suing gun manufacturers and revokes the licenses of back actor dealers. all morning we have been asking our viewers whether they think secretary clinton's plan or one like it would work. i want to get your sense on whether that plan seems like one to you that would be possible. >> it absolutely would be possible and it's long overdue for this kind of action to be taken. you know, i applaud mrs. clinton for coming out and for advancing these ideas that we have been pushing for quite a while. you know, there is no new normal and if people accept that the same thin