But has he actually? That’s the question. Given the recent public reactions to Fast and Furious from the parents of slain border agent Brian Terry, it seems they, at least, are not convinced of Holder’s sincere regret.

In separate interviews yesterday, Kent and Josephine Terry spoke about the program that helped to supply the weapons that killed their son, venting both heartbreak and outrage.

The two were especially torn by Holder’s refusal to apologize to them at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing earlier this week. At the hearing, Holder openly admitted he had not yet apologized for the Department of Justice’s role — through Operation Fast and Furious — in Terry’s death. When Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas invited him to say he was sorry on the spot, he refused.

“That shows what kind of a person he is,” Kent lamented. “To me, he is not much of a person. I don’t know if he has a son. But if he lost his, he would think different.”

“I sat in a chair and cried,” Josephine said. “It was so inhumane. An apology to anybody means at least they are trying to fix it. He didn’t.”

Now, according to Politico, Holder has sent an apology letter to the Terry family — but The Daily Caller reports not all of the family had seen it by the time of the Politico report:

Terry family attorney Lincoln Combs told TheDC on Friday that Holder’s office sent the letter Wednesday afternoon via email to one of Brian’s sisters, who then forwarded the email to other family members.

Politico wrote Thursday that it had obtained a copy of that letter, along with another that Terry’s family had previously sent to Holder. Brian’s mother Josephine, however, hadn’t seen Holder’s letter by the time the news outlet published its report.

Holder’s e-mailed apology — seemingly issued as much for appearances as out of any kind of genuine remorse, to judge by the speed with which it reached the press — won’t do much to slow the calls for his resignation. Kent and Josephine Terry both want to see the attorney general resign, they said — and they’re joined in that opinion by 39 Congressmen, National Rifle Association president David Keene and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. Far from it. In fact, Republican Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona is presently organizing a presser to more publicly call for Holder’s resignation, as well as for greater accountability and answers on Fast and Furious. The conference is scheduled for 1:15 p.m. ET next Tuesday. With this presser, Gosar told The Daily Caller, he hopes both to pressure Democrats to stop playing politics with this and to attract more mainstream media attention to Fast and Furious.

Gosar has also said that Holder’s apparent lack of remorse — his total unwillingness to even respond to the calls for him to step down — just underscores the need for his removal. Holder’s pseudo-apology surely won’t change that impression.

Meantime, with or without an apology, Terry’s parents continue to feel the loss of their son painfully keenly.

Kent said[:] “I can see him, as I did that day he came home, with the sun shining in his hair. How do I get closure? I go out to his car. I have a tough time going to the cemetery. He is not supposed to be there. I am. Nobody wants to outlive their son.”

He said he struggles with the death to this day. “It’s just hard. I can’t sleep, just thinking about him — I love him very much.”

Josephine is strong but also still grieves. Each morning she logs onto Brian’s Facebook page and looks at videos he once posted and snapshots of his life.

“It brings me a little closure, like he is still with me,” she said.

Update (Allahpundit): Correction: The Terrys actually broke their silence Wednesday in an interview with CBS News. Here’s the clip:

Update: This post originally mistakenly referred to the above quotes of Kent and Josephine Terry — from an interview with FoxNews.com — as their “first public reactions” to Fast and Furious. In fact, CBS Evening News aired the first interviews Tuesday evening, and an extended report aired on the CBS Early Show on Wednesday morning. The post has been corrected above.