Del. couple continues fight for tougher gun laws

Sarah and Jim Brady, of Rehoboth, have made gun control their life’s work.

The pair founded the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence.

And now the foundation is applauding the efforts of Democratic members of the House Judiciary Committee in Washington, D.C.

Committee members are pushing for Congressional hearings on gun violence, within the next month, in the wake of the shootings in Tucson, AZ that killed six and wounded 13 others, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.

“Congress for too long has ignored the 30,000 Americans killed and another 70,000 injured by gun violence every year. Now is the time for action… It’s the right thing to do for our nation and for the way too many families and communities that suffer from gun violence,” said Paul Helmke, President of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.

In an interview with Sarah Brady last week, she said the Brady Law needs some “revamping.”

Changes to the Brady Law that Sarah Brady would like to see include:

A three-day waiting period before being able to purchase a gun, to ensure a thorough mental and criminal background check.
Background checks on secondary sales, e.g. guns purchased at gun shows or from private sellers.
Renew the ban on large capacity magazine assault weapons.

House Democrats say Congress needs to address what they describe as “specific weaknesses” with the nation’s gun laws that allow shootings like the one in Tucson to happen in the first place.

Brady says she and Jim are “not anti-gun, but we are for restrictions and controls on the access of firearms to people who shouldn’t have ’em, like the young man in Tucson.”

Nearly 30 years ago this March, Jim Brady suffered a permanently disabling gunshot wound to the head, during an assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan.

Brady was Reagan’s Press Secretary at the time.

Since then, the Bradys have fought to prevent gun violence, resulting in the Brady Bill which was signed into law in November 30, 1993.