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The Jim Acosta Show
GUN VIOLENCE IN AMERICA: ANDY PARKER, WHO LOST DAUGHTER ALISON TO GUN VIOLENCE, JOINS JIM TO DISCUSS MINNEAPOLIS SHOOTING
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Foreign.
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Welcome to the Jim Acosta show. Thanks everybody, for tuning in. My guest for this edition is is Andy Parker. His daughter was killed in a shooting just 10 years ago this week. And ever since then, Andy has been on a crusade not just to have more gun safety in the United States, but also to regulate and better protect families when it comes to what is posted online. It's something that Andy's been battling ever since his daughter Allison was killed 10 years ago. Andy, great to see you. Thanks for doing this as always. I was just reading your just terrific Substack column on what it's been like all these 10 years and, and what you're going through this week now that it's been 10 years since Allison's passing. Tell us about that. And I guess, I mean, we're seeing the, the headlines coming out of Minneapolis school just starting across much of the country. And already, of course, there's a, there's another mass shooting this time in Minneapolis. Your thoughts?
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Well, you know, it's just another day in America. It's, it's insane. This shouldn't be happening. You know, kids should go, be able to go to church, go to school without fear of being killed. And you know, unfortunately, you have a block, I guess you can call them Republicans now or, but, well, what used to be Republicans, they're all Magas and they're just not, you know, they, they worship, they feel like that kids and, and families and anybody that's devastated by gun violence is just collateral damage as long as they can, you know, cling to their AR15s and you know, what I've been proposing all these years is it's like, no, we're not going to get rid of the second Amendment. But it's, you know, there's common sense that needs to take hold and weapons of war don't belong in the street. You know, we need to be able to do better background checks, red flag laws. I mean, there are things that we can do on a national level that we've done in Virginia. The AR15 or the assault weapon ban is coming up in the General assembly probably next, next January. But there are things that we can do to, to protect people and we just haven't done enough. And you know, along with that, Jim, there is that confluence, as you mentioned, of, you know, I call it guns and Google. It's, there is, there's a connection there between, you know, gun violence in this country and you know, like this, this kid that, that killed these people in Minneapolis, he's posting online, he's Posting these manifestos. Allison's, Allison's killer posted and uploaded the video to, to Twitter at the time. So there is this, there is this, you know, terrible symbiotic relationship between what's going on with social media and guns and, and we have to, we have to bring it to, we have to stop it, for crying out loud.
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Yeah. And Andy, I mean, to me the bottom line is. And listen, in this, this new job that I have, I can just, I can say, say what I want to say and tell it like it is to me, the reason why we're in this boat, and I know you agree with this, is just absolute cowardice. Cowardice in the Republican Party up on Capitol Hill. And even some, some Democrats I think, fall into this category too. They are just totally panic stricken when it comes to the NRA and the gun lobby's power when it comes to elections. And it has paralyzed efforts to really seriously get at this problem, it seems to me. And yes, the online issue is potent and we should talk about this too, but we can't get background checks in this country. It's just, it all goes back to courage and they just don't have it.
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A
They, they don't. I remember, I think Tim Kaine told me that that had, you know, when, when Gabby Giffords was shot and you know, for cry. She was a member of Congress, for crying out loud. And, and so when, when she was shot, he said if there had been a vote to implement some kind of restrict gun restrictions at that point in time, you know, if they'd done it, if it had been a, a vote that was, was in, you know, that, what do you call it, an undisclosed vote or, or an anonymous secret, it would have passed like 98 to 2. But you know, when the book's out there, they're, they, you know, to, to illustrate your point, it is cowardice there. And I, and I think, Jim, I think they're afraid more of their base as much as they are. The gun lobby know. Yeah, they're getting, but they're not getting as much money from the gun lobby as they used to. But I think they're just afraid of, of their base. I think they're afraid of their base not just about guns, but just about any other issue in general.
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Well, that's true. Anything under the sun. And what's remarkable, Andy, is, you know, you're, you're right. I think Allison and, and her murder, which as you said, the killer put up online. It certainly appears to be one of the first episodes where a shooter like this was trying to glorify his actions online. And we have seen that take place time and again in this Minneapolis case. The shooter appears to be referring back to previous mass shootings. And I don't. How do we stop this? Is it. Because I know you've been fighting the good fight in terms of trying to bring some kind of regulation to these Internet companies that just, and these social media companies that just don't want to change. Is there a way to, is there a way to combat that?
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Yeah, but again, it takes courage. And it's, you know, the simple fix is you got to either revoke or amend section 230. And that's the, that is the provision, you know, back in 96 when, you know, no one knew anything about Twitter or any kind of social media. It was, it wasn't even, even a thought back then. And so, yeah, it was, you know, let's protect these, these platforms so that they can foster free speech. Well, that was great until, you know, Facebook came along and Instagram and Twitter. And so now what you have is that that provision that protects these, these companies from any kind of, that needs to change. And I think that once, if it does become, if families can litigate and can sue these companies, that's going to stop it. I've always, I've said that for years. It's the, you know, the minute you have all these death by a thousand cuts, when these, when these companies are faced with lawsuits, they'll start policing their platforms. They'll start, you know, being editors though, and, and have some oversight. You know, I think you, you may have noticed or we talked about this a while back during the, when, when the Supreme Court kicked out the Gonzalez vs Google suit. You know, they said, well, no, this is not our bailiwick. We, this needs to go back to Congress. Zuckerberg just eliminated all of his, his fact checkers or his content moderators. And, and so that's what you have. You, you know, he's now relying on, quote, unquote, the public to, to monitor and to, you know, be the content moderation factor. I don't think that's working.
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Yeah. And Andy, we're seeing this happen time and again. I think there have been seven or eight mass shootings just this year at schools or school related facilities. According to the Washington Post. It's happening in cities, it's happening in rural communities, it's happening in schools, it's happening in churches, shopping centers, supermarkets, movie theaters, public parks, you know, streets in an urban community. You name it, it happens Everywhere. And, and you're now a part of this community that just keeps growing every day. I just wonder what's it like for you and for families who are in the same position that you're in.
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A
Well, you know, it never gets easier. It. It's. You're. There's always going to be, you know, this void there. There is a sculpture in Geneva, Switzerland, I believe, and it's called Melancholy, and it depicts this. This figure that his head is slumped over, you know, his arms are crossed, he's sitting, and where his torso is, there's this giant hole. And that's the reason it's called Melancholy, because that's kind of how we all get through life. Yeah, we're going to have days where we. Where we laugh and, and we, you know, we. We enjoy life as best we can, but there's a hole there that's never going to go away. And so the only thing you can do. What I try to do is, I mean, everybody reacts differently to something like what happened to me. You know, I know Adam Ward's family, they're. They're great people, but they're very private, and they just. They did not go the route that I did. I. I felt like my purpose in life was to. To try and make the effort to. To change this dynamic, this horrible dynamic that's going on. And, you know, I've been joined by a lot of other folks in my, you know, as I say, call it the club that no one wants to join. And as you mentioned, sadly, that club is growing. It grows every day, and it's bullshit. We've got to do something about it. But the only way it's going to change is for people to get out and vote and go, you know, we. We've had enough of this. We. We need somebody that can go in there and have the balls to change it.
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B
That's right. And it's not about taking guns away from people or eliminating the Second Amendment. These are all red hearings. And people should finally get over these ridiculous talking points that come out of the nra, that come out of the MAGA base. And so nobody wants to do that. We're talking about common sense, gun control legislation, gun safety legislation, universal background checks. I mean, that sort of a thing. I mean, we had an assault weapons ban in the 90s and into the 2000s that made a dent. If you look at the studies and the statistics. And I just don't know why we can't have those kinds of regulations in this country. We're unique among all of these industrialized, developed nations with this plague that we have here. Andy, the one thing I do want to say, though, is Allison went to my alma mater, James Madison University in Virginia. You're a proud Virginian. I'm a proud Virginian. And I will say that Allison's memory lives on. For folks who don't know this, the people at JMU and Harrisonburg, Virginia, they still talk about Allison to this day. There are portions of the communications department there that are dedicated to Allison. And so, Andy, her memory lives on. I do think that's a beautiful thing. She wanted to be a reporter. She was a great reporter. Would have had a fantastic career as a journalist. But just your thoughts on her memory and legacy. It still shines bright there in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia.
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A
Yeah, and. And every place does. And I, you know, I. I'll have to send you the. The piece that Joe DeShield, one of her co workers, that at WDBJ did. And it was just. It was remarkable. You know, I don't know that you could have done it any better than. Than he did, but that is that. That sort of. That really. It captures who she was, who. What she was all about. I mean, she was a spark. She was revered at, you know, at jmu. I mean, she was, you know, because you, you know, you're one of those guys. You're one of these people that. Who you. Who you are in person, who you are on camera. The people that see you on tv, you're that guy. You're that guy in person. And that was Allison. I mean, she was. She was kind. She was generous. You know, one of the things or one of her. Her former colleagues at DBJ told me recently, he said, you know, we come into the pitch meetings, and he said, I was lazy. I had, like, nothing. I had nothing to pitch. She would have five stories, and she would give me one. She would give me one of the stories. I mean, but that's the kind of. That's the kind of person she was. She was generous. She was. She was always trying to mentor people and make people better. And that's why, you know, 10 years later, she's still beloved by, you know, the people at jmu. And I can't tell you the number of times that, you know, people, strangers that will come up to me and say, I never met her, but I feel like I. I know her. And, And I think that's the kind of legacy and the. And the mark that she leaves on the world. And it will, you know, it'll just keep going. As long as I'm alive, I'm going to make sure that she's always remembered.
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B
Well, I'll continue to do that, too. Andy and I always enjoy our conversations. And when you shoot me a little text here and there and say, jim, what about this story? What about that story? Believe me, I take them to heart and I rack my brains, how can we do this? But I'm so glad we finally connected on the show, and I hope we can have you back as often as possible. But, you know, I just, I think about Allison from time to time and, you know, she's a part of this JMU community and, you know, I, I, I really just, and, and you and your wife just think the world of both of you.
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A
Well, I appreciate it and likewise. And you know, the next time we do this, hopefully it'll be a, a lighter subject perhaps. But I'm always glad to talk about Allison because, because of who she was and what she means to all of us.
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Yeah. Well, thank you, Andy. Really appreciate the time. Let's do this again soon and we'll stay in touch. Thank you.
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A
All right, buddy. Good to see you.
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B
Andy Parker, thank you so much.
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A
Take care.
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B
And that, you know, folks, sometimes I, I wrap these things up with a long soliloquy. But, you know, I'll just say this. The world needs more Alison Parkers. The profession of television journalism needs more Alison Parker. You just heard her dad right there say she would come into planning meetings with five stories, and if a reporter or fellow reporter didn't have one, she would hand one out. That's the kind of person that she was. And it's the, she's the kind of person we need in this world. But we don't have her in this world because we insist on ignoring and not having the guts and the courage to solve this problem. Why can't we solve this problem? It's because of a lack of political courage. And all it's going to take, all it's going to take is a couple of votes to pass meaningful gun safety legislation. Things like background checks, things like the assault weapons ban and so on. And I know folks at home might say, gosh, Jim, you're supposed to be a journalist. Why are you taking these positions on things? Because enough is enough. This has been going on since the late 1990s. My goodness. And the people on the far right will think of anything to blame this plague on. They'll talk about trans issues and so on. Baloney. It's whether you care about kids more than guns. That's the bottom line. Whether you care about people like Allison or the guns, that's the bottom line. And so my heart goes out to people like Andy Parker. And, you know, on this show, I will continue to highlight families like the Parkers because this is not, this is not an issue where we stick our head in the sand, folks, something we take head on. All right. Thanks very much for joining me. See you next.