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ByJonathanDrew The Associated Press COLLINSVILLE, VA. Andy Parker's resolve to fight for gun control formed in the hours after his daugh- ter was shot and killed on live television. In his first interviews after the trag- edy, he briefly mentioned the issue as he eulogized Alison. By Friday, he was pledging a full-scale fight for tougher gun laws on national TV. "This will be my mis- sion," he told reporters. While his articulate Southern voice renews a push for gun restrictions, winning such measures has proved nearly impossible in the U.S., even after other high-profile tragedies gar- nered sympathy across the country and elicited simi- lar pledges of activism from victim's relatives. And Parker is starting his battle in unforgiving territory. Gun ownership is part of the fabric of south- ern states like Virginia and communities like Collins- ville, a town of 7,000 where the Parker family has lived for 17 years. "I've got to do something going forward that makes her life meaningful and will always be with me. And this is the way to do it," Parker told AP in an interview ear- lier this week. Parker gained a strong supporter in Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, a gun- owner himself, who has promised to help fight for stronger background checks for gun buyers. "There are too many guns in America and there are clearly too many guns in the wrong hands. So we're going to continue to do what we can," McAuliffe said Friday during a condo- lence visit. Yet it was unclear what measures would have pre- vented Vester Flanagan from buying the gun he used to kill reporter Ali- son Parker and camera- man Adam Ward as they conducted a live interview Wednesday morning. With no apparent criminal re- cord or other disqualifying incidents in his past, Flana- gan passed a background check to buy his weapon. Speaking outside the Roanoke television station where his daughter worked, Parker said he's not against gun ownership in general, but stricter background checks are needed to keep guns away from men- tally ill people. He wants to close loopholes for buy- ing guns at gun shows. He also doesn't see why civil- ians need assault weapons: "Who the hell needs a ma- chine gun to go hunt?" He acknowledged obsta- cles, ranging from a lack of political will to a desensi- tized public. "Each time you think there's a tipping point, with Sandy Hook or Aurora, and nothing gets done," he said. Parker was referring to the December 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Con- necticut, that killed 26 chil- dren and educators and the July 2012 killing of 12 peo- ple in a packed theater in Colorado. A push spurred in part by relatives of the Sandy Hook victims for stricter national gun control laws, includ- ing universal background checks, failed in Congress. But the tragedy did push Connecticut lawmakers to adopt one of the stron- gest gun-control laws in the country. Nicole Hockley, who lost her 6-year-old son in the shooting and is now com- munications director for the Sandy Hook Promise advocacy group, said Parker faces difficult choices as he considers how to fight gun violence. "This is one of the most difficult issues in all of America. It's one of the hardest, one of the most politically tense, and one of the most polarized out there, and it's a long jour- ney to make even sim- ple changes," she said. "I would urge him to follow his heart and decide what he wants to do whether he wants to fight for legislative change or political change or whether he wants to fo- cus on ways to prevent vio- lence from ever occurring. None of them are easy." Hockley said the defeat of gun control legislation in Congress led the group to change its strategy to- ward fostering a national dialogue on the issues of gun violence and mental wellness. "We shouldn't be waiting for our politicians to change the law. It's not like all gun violence is going to disap- pear just because of a cou- ple of laws. This is a mul- tifaceted problem and it's going to require many so- lutions." ON-AIR SHOOTING A erslaying,reporter'sdadfindsvoiceonguncontrol STEPHANIEKLEIN-DAVIS—THEROANOKETIMES Andy and Barbara Parker, of Collinsville, Va., mourn the loss of their daughter, Alison Parker, a journalist for WDBJ, on Friday in Roanoke, Va. JONATHAN DREW — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS A candle burns in front of a memorial for two slain journalists at Bridgewater Plaza in Moneta, Va., on Friday. By Lolita C. Baldor The Associated Press MOUNTAIN VIEW Defense Secretary Ash Carter an- nounced Friday that the Pentagon is funding a new venture to develop cut- ting-edge electronics and sensors that can flex and stretch and could be built into clothing or the skins of ships and aircraft. The high-tech invest- ment could lead to wear- able health monitors that could be built into military uniforms or used to assist the elderly. Or it could fos- ter thin, bendable sensors that could be tucked into cracks or crevices on weap- ons, ships or bridges where bulky wiring could never fit. The sensors could tele- graph structural problems or trigger repair alerts. Speaking to business leaders and others at NA- SA's Ames Research Cen- ter, Carter acknowledged the challenges of improv- ing ties with a tech indus- try that is often wary, dis- trustful and frustrated with the government. Because the two sides have different missions and different perspectives, "sometimes we disagree. And I think that's okay," he said. "Addressing disagree- ments through partnership is better than not speaking at all." He told the Silicon Valley leaders that he is "here to engage." Under the new plan, the Pentagon will provide $75 million and the industry, academia and local govern- ment will contribute $96 million over five years to a newly created high-tech in- novation institute. The consortium, called the Flexible Hybrid Elec- tronic Institute, will be led by California-based Flex- Tech Alliance and be made up of 162 companies, uni- versities and other groups. Carter laid out the details in his speech Friday in Cali- fornia's Silicon Valley. This is Carter's second trip to the technology hub in four months, as he works to get the Defense Department to increasingly tap into the re- gion's high-tech expertise and workforce. "Given what we've al- ready done, there's truly no limit to what we can achieve together," said Carter. "That's why I've been pushing the Pentagon to think outside our five- sided box, and invest in in- novation here in Silicon Val- ley and in tech communities across the country." He said the flexible elec- tronics have enormous po- tential for the military, even though "we don't know all the applications this new technology will make possible — that's the remarkable thing about in- novation." MILITARY Pentagon chief announces funding of new high-tech electronics venture FacebookPage 4,276fans + 10 this week .. and growing, every week! Daily News Facebook fans receive special posts of breaking news, sports, weather and road closures, clicking right to full stories and photos published on redbluffdailynews.com ... Tehama County's most-visited local website ... things that that fans want to know about, sooner rather than later! www.facebook.com/rbdailynews "LIKE" us at "Like" a story or item, leave a review, make a post on the site ... and more! YOU'LL LIKE WHAT YOU SEE Select"Subscribe"tabinlowerrightcorner Complete information for automatic weekly delivery to your email inbox That's it! 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