On-air killings spark fresh calls for gun control

Gun control advocates on Wednesday quickly seized on the on-air shooting of a television news crew in a renewed push for background checks for all gun purchases. 

A man gunned down television reporter Alison Parker, 24, and cameraman Adam Ward, 27, Wednesday morning while they were broadcasting near Roanoke, Va.

“So often we hear and see stories about gun violence in America, but today Americans watched in horror as it played out on live television,” said Dan Gross, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.

Gun control advocates have long pushed to close what they see as loopholes in the background check system that allow criminals and people who are mentally ill to purchase firearms.

Federal regulations require gun shops to conduct background checks before most firearm sales, but customers can get around this requirement by purchasing weapons online or at gun shows.

Calls for federal action on gun control are typical after high-profile shootings, but action on any significant legislation is highly unlikely in the GOP-controlled Congress.

The gun lobby argues that expanding background checks could be used to unfairly target law-abiding citizens.

Still, gun control advocates hope that the shooting having played out on live television will give more momentum to their cause.

Gabby Giffords, the former congresswoman who survived a gunshot wound to the head in 2011, lamented the violence.

“Our country has a gun violence problem, and shootings like these are far too common in our country,” said Giffords, the founder of Americans for Responsible Solutions. “Many times, they happen behind closed doors, in homes and schools and movie theaters. But this time, the horror unfolded live and on-air, for all to see.”