Andy Parker
• Gun safety activist & author of 'For Alison: The Murder of a Young Journalist and a Father's Fight for Gun Safety'
“Andy Parker suffered the unimaginable loss of his daughter to gun violence. His exemplary activism in gun safety is a testament and a tribute to his great love for her.”
–Julianne Moore, Actress
On August 26, 2015, the lives of Andy and Barbara Parker changed forever when their daughter Alison, a journalist for WDBJ7, was murdered on live television near Roanoke, Virginia.
Vowing to do whatever it takes, Andy turned his anger into outspoken activism and action to fight gun violence. From branding the NRA a terrorist organization to publicly calling out legislators for their cowardice, Andy is willing to say what others only think. With assistance from the Georgetown University Civil Rights Law Clinic, he has now taken on Google in an effort to remove the video of Alison's murder from YouTube.
Andy has appeared on CNN, MSNBC, CBS, ABC, NBC, Fox News and multiple international outlets and has been a contributor to such national publications as the Huffington Post, Time, Newsweek, Washington Post, USA Today, New York Post, and New York Daily News. A member of the National Press Club, he proudly serves on the advisory board of the Fallen Journalists Memorial Foundation.
Speech topics
Finding Your Greater Purpose
"Get busy living or get busy dying.” –Red, from the Shawshank Redemption.
In Andy Parker’s case, it was “get busy fighting or get busy dying”. The day his daughter, Emmy Award-winning journalist Alison Parker, was killed on live television, he had an epiphany about what he would do with the rest of his shattered life. Instead of curling up into a fetal position or drinking himself to death, Andy chose to channel his grief and anger into honoring Alison through action. Employing a mixture of hope, humor, and dogged persistence, he defines the purpose of his new life and creates a roadmap to inspire others searching for their purpose in the face of tragedy or simply trying to find their way.
Books
For Alison: The Murder of a Young Journalist and a Father's Fight for Gun Safety
Renowned activist Andy Parker's account of the story that shocked America, the murder of his daughter, reporter Alison Parker, on live television, and his extraordinary ensuing fight for commonsense gun safety legislation and doing "Whatever It Takes" to end gun violence.