Arizona mom who lost daughter to gun violence reacts to Biden’s executive gun control order

PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) - President Biden rolled out a new executive order today aimed at stopping gun violence. It cracks down on background checks, increases the use of so-called “red flag laws,” and asks the FTC to look into how guns are marketed.

One mom who lost her daughter to gun violence in Arizona says there’s more to do but believes this is a solid first step. While an arms defense attorney says, this order is cracking down on the wrong people.

“It gets harder sometimes as the years go by because I find myself forgetting her voice and trying to think about what she sounded like,” said Deborah Parker, who lost her 19-year-old daughter Lindsey to gun violence in 2006. “There was a drive-by shooting and while Lindsey was sitting on the porch talking on the phone, she was shot in the head and killed,” Parker said. “Even if it prevents one or two, that’s one or two more people that are still alive,” said Parker.

Aside from increasing background checks, the executive order also requires those selling guns to become federally licensed dealers. This would also force dealers to check whether someone is a violent felon or a domestic abuser before buying a gun. It’s something Parker says could prevent what happened to her daughter from happening to someone else. “Two people are in prison for her murder. And one of them was a convicted felon who was not legally allowed to have a gun of any kind, but he did,” Parker said.

But not everyone thinks the executive order is a good idea. “Does that mean now that an individual that needs some money and takes five of their guns to a pawn shop and sells them, is that guy now determined to be a gun dealer?”

Edwin Walker, an attorney defending firearms cases, says he doesn’t think this will do much to crack down on violent crimes. “People dealing guns out of the back of their car, people dealing stolen guns in seedy areas. Those folks are already in violation of the law and so if there was a crackdown on those folks, because those guns do disproportionately end up in crimes, that would be fantastic. I think we’d all be in favor of that,” said Walker.

But Parker says she is happy there are small steps forward and hopes more will follow. “I’ve been doing this for 17 years now and finally we are inching forward, finally politicians will bring up gun violence prevention and run on it as a platform,” Parker said.

President Biden says this order also seeks to increase the reporting of stolen or lost guns.

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