Slain Reporter's Father Demands 'Coward' Politicians Take Up Gun Control

Andy Parker, the father of slain WDBJ journalist Alison Parker, is demanding that politicians restrict access to firearms, saying he will personally become a crusader for this issue if need be. 

"If I have to be the John Walsh of gun control and -- look, I'm for the Second Amendment, but there has to be a way to force politicians that are cowards and in the pockets of the NRA to come to grips and make sense -- have sensible laws so that crazy people can't get guns. It can't be that hard," said Parker in an interview with CNN 's "New Day." 

Walsh created "America's Most Wanted" and became a prominent victims' rights advocate after his son was murdered in 1981.

Alison Parker, 24, was a journalist with WDBJ in Roanoke, Virginia. On Wednesday morning, she and her cameraman, Adam Ward, 27, were gunned down  during a live broadcast. The gunman, whom police have identified as former station employee Vester Lee Flanagan, also filmed the shooting and put footage of it up on social media. 

What generally happens after mass shootings is that politicians offer their condolences but wave off any calls for gun control or other legislative measures. They say it's too soon and not the right time. But with mass shootings happening nearly every week , this sort of response essentially puts the issue off indefinitely.

Parker said Thursday that he doesn't want the country to simply sit back and give him time to grieve. He wants something to be done. 

"[P]oliticians from the local level to the state level to the national level, they sidestep the issue. They kick the can down the road. This can't happen anymore," he said.

Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) called Parker Wednesday, and Parker told him he was going to be a "crusader" on the issue. 

"And I know that the NRA, their position is going to be -- I can hear it now. They're going to say, 'Oh gee, well, if they were carrying, this never would have happened,'" Parker said.

"I've got news for you. If Alison or Adam had been caring an AK-47 strapped around their waist, it wouldn't have made any difference," he added. "They couldn't have seen this thing coming. So I don't want to hear that argument from the NRA, and you know that's going to happen. And I'm going to take it on."

Parker made a similar call for action Wednesday night on Fox News , saying he was ready to "shame legislators " who oppose solutions like more background checks for gun purchases.