"Honey, I forgot to duck..." Ronald Reagan to his wife Nancy, shortly before going into surgery after having been shot.
March 30th, 1981, John W. Hinckley Jr. attempted assassinating the 40th President of the United States. In less than two seconds he emptied his .22 caliber revolver. 1.7 seconds to empty a rather small handgun, a double action revolver with a questionable reputation. Hinckley hits White House Press Secretary James Brady in the head, first. D.C. police officer Thomas Delahanty in the back of his neck. Secret Service agent Timothy McCarthy is hit in the abdomen and Reagan is injured by a ricochet off the open armored door of his limousine. Special Agent in Charge (SAC), Jerry Parr had pushed Reagan into the limousine saving him from being shot in the head, even though the errant bullet penetrated his lung, lodging an inch from his heart. Severe mental health issues motivated Hinckley to copycat a movie he'd seen, believing his actions would impress an actress who was in that movie. For a year Hinckley had been pursuing his designs, stalking former President Carter, purchasing handguns, and sending letters to the actress. So pursuant and delusional, Hinckley had already been caught with a gun in Houston, at the airport, only to have been released. At the point that law enforcement realized he was a threat, it was too late.
"Never let a good crisis go to waste," and as Churchill coined, anti-gun lobbyists always cash in. Press Secretary James Brady and his wife Sarah Brady became the era's sympathetic force for gun control. Soon after the shooting, Sarah Brady, a "respected political operative," began working with Handgun Control Incorporated. She was elected to the board in 1985 and became the chair of the organization in 1989. Two years later, she became the chair of HCI’s sister organization, the Center to Prevent Handgun Violence. The original Brady legislation was introduced in 1988. Sarah and James Brady lobbying through six votes of Congress, over seven years and three presidencies to enact The Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act of 1993, brought to Congress by Charles E. Schumer. Bill Clinton signed the U.S. legislation that imposed an interim five-day waiting period for the purchase of a handgun. Forcing federal, state, and local law enforcement to perform background checks on the purchaser of a handgun. Unconstitutional according to the text of the 10th Amendment, never mind that pesky Second Amendment. The NRA fought against the Brady Bill from the onset, the 10th Amendment being the foundation opposing it, however conceding to a federally based background check becoming the National Instant Criminal Background Checking System put into effect 1998.
The NICS check, though mostly ignored by today's anti-gun parrots, was pivotal to the reputations and careers of politicians and advocates of gun control. Chuck Schumer has been in politics for 45 years, his title "Gun Control Champion," largely derivative from the Brady Bill. President Bill Clinton would gather enough supporters to enact The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act and The Public Safety and Recreational Firearms Use Protection Act. Sarah Brady had 33-year tenure with Handgun Control Incorporated (Est.1974), which ultimately became named Brady. A group decided to incorporate to allow the corporation to pay the officers and directors, and to insulate the directors and officers from personal liability. In 2019 alone, Brady had revenue and expenditures exceeding 37 million dollars. Anti-gun lobbyists, advocates, activists, and politicians were cashing in millions, if not billions of dollars annually. What criminal has Brady brought to justice? The Brady family has Secret Service protection, politicians on the Hill have multiple forms of security. These advocates, directors and officers have armed security with their privilege to live in gated and secure locations. All of whom are oblivious to the average American's daily security needs. Let this fact leave you contemplating their moral high ground's mentality: 33 years after being shot, James Brady's death is ruled as a homicide!
"Should people have to register guns like they register their cars? Do I think that? Of course, I do."
-Bill Clinton, who also said, "I did not have sexual relations with that woman."
Brady is Born