Chris Gaarde, son of Navy Yard shooting victim Kathy Gaarde, told Cenk Uygur on Wednesday he hoped the tragic incident would prompt action. But he also worried that nothing would change, and the nation would again be faced with yet another mass shooting.
"As I try to come to terms with the last 24 hours I cannot help but wonder if this tragedy will be a catalyst for change, or if six months from now I will feel the same aching emptiness as another horrific act of violence unfolds before me," he said in a written statement.
Uygur noted that Democrats and others pushed to implement universal background checks and an assault weapons ban following the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Connecticut last year. Those efforts, however, failed to overcome Republican opposition.
"Can we please use some sensible precautions so that not everybody who wants a gun, whether they are crazy, whether they have a criminal background, whatever the case might be, can get a gun," he added. "For Christ's sake, right now even people on the terrorist watch list can get a gun."
The shooting rampage at the Washington Navy Yard on Monday left 13 people dead, including the gunman, 34-year-old Aaron Alexis.
