July 26, 2022

Like Fred Guttenberg, the trajectory of Andy Parker's life was changed with the shooting death of his daughter. You probably remember it, because his daughter Alison, 24, was murdered by a crazed gunman while she was reporting the news on live TV.

That was just the beginning of the nightmare.

"The video of her murder proliferated on social media and getting tech giants to take down the images and videos of this horrific tragedy proved to be impossible. I decided to dedicate my life to taking on the flow of disinformation online and weapons of war offline," he said.

He made a start at running for Congress, but then decided it would be more productive to start Andy's Fight, a PAC to support candidates who are taking on these fights -- and to tell the truth about the ones standing in the way.

His approach is different in a good way. He's making disinformation a major part of the fight.

"Conspiracies and lies destroying our democracy and endangering us all. Platforms like Facebook not only don't try to stop it, but actively promote it for engagement," he says.

"Current laws can help if enforced, but we also need new laws for a new age, ones that recognize that like child porn and threats to the president’s life, incitement to violence and online stalking aren’t free speech. They’re dangerous and quell the very rights of speech, assembly and petition we must protect."

He says he won't stop until there's a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. "We will never put a stop to regular mass shootings and everyday street violence without these common-sense laws, ones that exist in nearly every other high-income democracy."

Finally, Parker says something I've never heard before from someone who's lobbying on an issure like this. "Andy’s Fight won’t play nice with Pat Toomey, Susan Collins or even Joe Manchin in the hope of bipartisan support for the measures we need. If you're failing to protect your constituents, we don’t care who likes you in Beltway circles. We’re going to tell people what you’re doing and how it is getting us killed."

That aggressive approach is very different. If you want to support Andy's Fight, you can donate or get more information here.

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