WASHINGTON — House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., has declined to comment on charges of being responsible for weak gun laws lodged by the father of one of the two journalists killed in last week’s on-air shootings near Roanoke.
Writing in The Washington Post, Andy Parker, the father of Alison Parker, also criticizes his state senator, Bill Stanley, R-Franklin. But Stanley says tougher mental health laws, not more gun control, could be helpful in reducing gun violence.
“We need to address that we are protecting society from those that are disturbed to the point that they want to hurt themselves or other people,” Stanley says.
But Parker says he wants effective safeguards put in place so there is no tragedy similar to what happened near Roanoke last week, when a gunman killed Alison Parker and Adam Ward and wounded Vicki Gardner on live television.
Stanley, who represents Parker’s home district, doesn’t believe that more gun control is the answer to curbing gun violence.
“I think it’s really tough to try to expand background checks, or the criteria for background checks, in a way that ultimately is trying to get at what is in a person’s heart or what are they thinking,” Stanley says.
Also coming under Parker’s criticism is Virginia Sen. John Edwards, D-Roanoke, who Parker says has been a “constant opponent of sensible gun reforms.”
