WASHINGTON – Of all the tragic victims of gun violence, James Brady became the face and – along with wife, Sarah, – the force of an enduring campaign to block firearm sales to convicted criminals and the dangerously mentally ill.
The Brady Handgun Violence and Prevention Act, named for the former White House press secretary, remains perhaps the most consequential piece of firearms legislation since its passage in 1993, analysts said.
Brady, the affable, witty press secretary who survived a devastating head wound in the 1981 assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan and undertook a personal crusade for gun control, died Monday. He was 73.
Brady suffered a bullet wound to his head outside the Washington Hilton Hotel on March 30, 1981. Although he returned to the White House only briefly, he was allowed to keep the title of presidential press secretary and his White House salary until Reagan left office in January 1989.
Brady, who spent much of the rest of his life in a wheelchair, died at a retirement community in Alexandria, Virginia, where he lived with his wife.
In the more than two decades since President Bill Clinton signed the Brady Handgun Violence and Prevention Act, which requires background checks on firearms purchases from federally licensed dealers, it has blocked the transfer of about 2 million guns.
“Clearly, (the Brady law) has been the most important factor in keeping guns away from the people who shouldn’t have them,” former Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives director John Magaw said. “It was a historic and strong piece of legislation.”
Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., who worked with the Bradys on the landmark legislation, called its namesake “a giant.”
“Jim Brady was a giant, both in his ability to overcome the tragic shooting and then – with his indomitable strength, force of character and morality – by staring down so many in the Congress and persuading them to pass the Brady law,” Schumer said. “Jim Brady may be gone, but tens of thousands live on, thanks to his tireless efforts.”
For the Bradys, the legislation remains the centerpiece of an effort that continues with the work of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, a powerful voice for gun control.
“There are few Americans in history who are as directly responsible for saving as many lives as Jim,” said Dan Gross, president of the Brady campaign.
“I am deeply proud to have called Jim Brady a friend,” Gross said in a statement. “He will be missed dearly by everyone at our organization, which proudly bears his name, and by a nation that has been made better by his life.”
Though the Bradys’ accomplishments were “historic,” Magaw said the couple’s campaign “didn’t get near what they hoped to do.”
He cited failed attempts to expand background checks – so-called universal background checks – to cover sales at gun shows. Other efforts to require mandatory gun-safety programs and periodic updating of background checks for gun owners have been defeated by the powerful gun-rights lobby.
“They didn’t get done everything they wanted, but neither has anybody else,” Magaw said. “This is a sad day, but he helped make this country a safer place.”
On most issues, the Brady campaign was aligned against a well-funded and vigilant gun-rights lobby, which included gun owners and gunmakers.
“While we disagreed with a number of policy issues supported by the organization that bears his name, we always did support background checks at the original point of purchase,” said Larry Keane, general counsel for the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the trade association for the gun industry.
© 2014 USA TODAY. All rights reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this story.
