Andy Parker, Father of Murdered WDBJ-TV Reporter Alison Parker, Senator Mark Warner, Senator Tim Kaine, Virginia Governor Terry Mcauliffe Join Gun Violence Survivors, Moms in Washington, D.C. to Demand Leaders do "Whatever It Takes" to Save Lives

WASHINGTON, Sept. 10, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today Andy Parker made his first visit to Washington, D.C. since his daughter – WDBJ-TV reporter Alison Parker – was killed on live television just two weeks ago, to carry his message that he is ready to do "whatever it takes" to prevent Americans from being killed by senseless gun violence. Parker was joined on the U.S. Capitol grounds by Virginia Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine and Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe, along with members of the Everytown Survivor Network and Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, both part of Everytown for Gun Safety.

As part of the National #WhateverItTakes Day of Action, Everytown and Moms Demand Action are rallying in more than 50 communities across the country today to call on Congress and state leaders to take action to prevent gun violence.  Everytown and Moms Demand Action are also asking Americans to send a message to Congress about gun violence, and this week in Washington, D.C., select messages will be seen on billboard trucks circling Capitol Hill, and in taxicabs driving through the city. More information about the National #WhateverItTakes Day of Action is available here.

"After my daughter Alison was tragically killed two weeks ago, I said on national television that we have to do whatever it takes to fix this country's gun violence problem," said Andy Parker.  "I know that weakening the stranglehold of the gun lobby won't happen overnight. I know, too, that passing background check laws won't prevent all acts of gun violence from taking place. But we must keep the pressure on our lawmakers until they do the right thing.  And if they won't, find their replacement."

"We must do whatever it takes so that not one more father has to receive the call that Andy Parker and I received to learn about our children's deaths," said Richard Martinez, whose son Christopher was shot and killed in Isla Vista, CA in 2014.  "This summer we've seen shootings in Charleston, Chattanooga, Lafayette, Roanoke, and plenty of other communities where the news didn't make national headlines.  As a veteran, as a father, and as an American, these tragedies are unacceptable."

"More than 30,000 people are killed by firearms in this country every year.  The cycle of tragedy, followed by outrage, followed by inaction has become too familiar. We simply cannot accept this as the status quo, and we must not be content at the unwillingness of Congress to enact reasonable reforms to prevent it. We must take action," said U.S. Senator Mark Warner. "Congress must pass legislation expanding meaningful background checks before the end of this year. And we have to work together to make sure local and state governments have the resources to prioritize inputting the correct data into the national background check system. 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."

"As recent tragedies in Virginia and across the nation have shown, the gun laws in our country have done little to stem senseless gun violence," said Senator Tim Kaine. "We have the power to make critical improvements - through universal background checks and other commonsense legislation – that will make it less likely that dangerous individuals will get a weapon in their hands and use it against others. We've seen the suffering of those who have lost loved ones to the epidemic of gun violence. We owe it to them to do whatever it takes until Congress and legislatures across the country get serious about gun safety."

"Our state continues to mourn the loss of Alison Parker and Adam Ward, but we also need to stand up and do something to make these tragic events less likely," said Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe.  "Six states have passed background check laws since the tragedy at Sandy Hook, and Virginia should be the next state to join the list. It's time for the General Assembly to act – Virginians are tired of partisan ideology blocking common sense steps to prevent gun violence." 

"It's heartbreaking to be back in Washington D.C. calling for congressional action in the midst of yet another summer of gun violence, but the gun violence prevention movement is stronger than it's ever been with more than three million supporters nationwide," said John Feinblatt, President of Everytown for Gun Safety.  "In just the last three years we've passed background check bills in six states, and we are mounting background check ballot initiatives in Nevada and Maine in 2016.  States are tackling gun violence all across the country, and it's time Congress took notice."

"It's an honor to stand with gun violence survivors, gun violence prevention advocates and members of Congress to demand that our lawmakers take action on this American crisis," said Shannon Watts, Founder of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America.  "To those who say nothing has happened in the 1,000 days since Sandy Hook, something did happen: Moms Demand Action happened. Now, together with the Everytown Survivor Network and Everytown for Gun Safety, we are the largest grassroots movement fighting for gun sense in America, and Congress will no longer be able to stall progress and ignore our millions of voices and votes."

To honor the lives of the 88 Americans shot and killed every day and the hundreds more injured, gun violence survivors, Members of Congress, and supporters took turns reading the names of the thousands of American victims of gun violence this summer.

The list of gun violence survivors in Washington for today's event can be found below:

Gun Violence Survivors in Washington, D.C. on September 10^th

Pamela Bosley (IL), whose 18 year-old son Terrell was shot and killed outside the Lights of Zion Missionary Bible Church in Chicago after finishing a performance in 2006.

Yvonne Crasso (CT), whose sister Nina Michele Bradley Christie, was found dead from a gunshot wound in 2012.

Timothy Curtis (D.C.), who has had a number of close friends and relatives taken by gun violence, including his father and teenage best friend, as well as other friends, cousins and an uncle.

Jane Dougherty (CO), whose sister Mary Sherlach was the school psychologist killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School mass shooting.

Colin Goddard (D.C.), survivor of the 2007 Virginia Tech shooting and Senior Policy Advocate for Everytown for Gun Safety.

Roxanna Green (AZ), whose nine year old daughter, Christina-Taylor Green, was shot and killed while attending Rep. Giffords's Congress on Your Corner event. 

Lori Haas (VA), whose daughter Emily Haas was shot and survived the Virginia Tech shooting in 2007.

Anne Haynes (VA), whose husband Ronald Kirby was shot multiple times and found dead in his Alexandria home on November 11th, 2013.

Paul Kemp (OR), whose brother-in-law Steven Forsyth was shot and killed at the 2012 Clackamas Town Center shooting in Oregon.

Erica Lafferty (CT), daughter of Sandy Hook principal Dawn Lafferty Hochsprung who was killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, and Senior Outreach Associate for Everytown for Gun Safety.

Clai Lasher-Sommers (NH), who survived being shot by her abusive stepfather in January of 1970.

Uma Loganathan (VA), whose father Professor G.V. Loganathan was shot and killed at the Virginia Tech shooting in 2007.

Pat Maisch (AZ), who attended Rep. Gifford's Congress on Your Corner event and helped disarm the shooter by grabbing his second magazine clip after he was tackled.

Richard Martinez (CA), whose son, Christopher Michaels-Martinez, was one of six people shot and killed in the Isla Vista mass shooting on May 23, 2014 near the campus of UC Santa Barbara, CA. Richard has been traveling the country speaking out in support of state and federal elected officials who stand up for common sense gun laws and carrying forward his message that "Not One More" person be taken by senseless gun violence. Richard is currently a Senior Outreach Associate at Everytown for Gun Safety.

Lucy McBath (GA), whose son Jordan Davis was shot and killed at a gas station in Jacksonville, Florida on November 23, 2012 during an argument over loud music. The shooter claimed self-defense under Florida's Stand Your Ground law but was ultimately sentenced to life in prison for first degree murder.  Lucy is currently a national spokeswoman for Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America and Faith and Community Outreach Leader for Everytown for Gun Safety.

Tom McMahon and Shelly McMahon (CA), whose 24 year-old son, Joe McMahon, an associate producer on the Discovery channel program The Deadliest Catch, was shot and killed on July 24, 2015 outside of Pasadena, California.

Jacob and Darchel Mohler (NV), whose 13-year-old daughter, Brooklynn Mae Mohler, was at a friend's home when she was unintentionally shot and killed with an unsecured gun on June 4, 2013.

Andy Parker (VA), whose daughter, Allison, age 24, was shot and killed on live television while reporting for WDBJ7 News along with her cameraman by a disgruntled past station employee on August 26th, 2015.

Dorothy Paugh (MD), whose son, Peter Lapa-Lilly, committed suicide with a gun in April 2012 in Baltimore at the age of 25.

Khary Penebaker (WI), whose mother committed suicide with a gun in 1979 when he was only 20 months old.

Sandy and Lonnie Phillips (TX), parents of 24 year-old aspiring journalist Jessica Ghawi, who was killed in the Aurora movie theater shooting in July 2012.

Miya Rahamim (D.C.), whose father Reuven Rahamim, was shot and killed along with five others on September 27th, 2012 during the shooting at Accent Signage System in Minneapolis.

Judi and Wayne Richardson (ME), parents of Darien Richardson, who was shot several times while sleeping during a home invasion and died from her wounds 20 days later. The Richardson's are citizen sponsors of the 2016 Maine ballot initiative requiring background checks on all gun sales.

Reverend Sharon Risher (SC), whose mother Ethel Lance and cousins Susie Jackson and Tywanza Sanders were killed in Charleston at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in June 2015.

Diana Alvarado Rodriguez (NY), whose 18-year-old daughter, Samantha Guzman, was shot and killed on Mother's Day 2006 in the Bronx while she and her friends were coming home from a party. 

Diane Sellgren (MN), whose husband and daughter each committed suicide with a gun on the same day 26 years apart.

Tom Sullivan (CO), father of Alex Sullivan, who was killed on his 27th birthday in the Aurora movie theater shooting in July 2012.

Thomas and Caren Teves (AZ), whose 24 year-old Alex Teves was killed in the Aurora movie theater shooting in July 2012. They are the founders of No Notoriety, a campaign calling on the media to limit the name and images of shooters in news coverage.

DeAndra Yates (IN), whose 13-year-old son, DeAndre, was shot by a stray bullet at a birthday party and survived, but can no longer walk or talk and is in therapy to try to regain those basic skills.

Jenna Yuille (OR), whose mother Cindy Yuille was shot and killed in the 2012 Clackamas Town Center shooting in Oregon.

About the Everytown Survivor Network

The Everytown Survivor Network brings together Americans who have been personally affected by gun violence to work together to fight for solutions to prevent the gun violence that kills 88 Americans and injures hundreds more every day. The Survivor Network connects people who have been shot and loved ones of those who have been shot or killed to build community and empower survivors to become advocates and leaders in the gun violence prevention movement.  The Survivor Network, along with Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America and Mayors Against Illegal Guns, is part of Everytown for Gun Safety, the largest gun violence prevention organization in the country with more than three million members and more than 40,000 donors.  To learn more about Everytown's work with survivors or to join the Survivor Network, please visit www.everytown.org/survivors.

About Everytown for Gun Safety

Everytown is the largest gun violence prevention organization in the country with more than three million supporters and more than 40,000 donors including moms, mayors, survivors, and everyday Americans who are fighting for public safety measures that respect the Second Amendment and help save lives. At the core of Everytown are Mayors Against Illegal Guns and Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, a grassroots movement of American mothers founded the day after the Sandy Hook tragedy. Learn more at www.everytown.org and follow us @Everytown  

About Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America

Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America is a grassroots movement of American mothers fighting for public safety measures that respect the Second Amendment and protect people from gun violence. Moms Demand Action campaigns for new and stronger solutions to lax gun laws and loopholes that jeopardize the safety of our children and families. Since its inception after the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School, Moms Demand Action has established a chapter in every state of the country and along with Mayors Against Illegal Guns is part of Everytown for Gun Safety, the largest gun violence prevention organization in the country with more than three million members and more than 40,000 donors. For more information or to get involved visit www.momsdemandaction.org. Follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MomsDemandAction or on Twitter at @MomsDemand  

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