Former White House Press Secretary James Brady Dead at 73

NBC News ^

[matt04]

Former White House Press Secretary James Brady, who was famously shot during the attempt on then-President Ronald Reagan's life in 1981, has died. He was 73.

"Jim touched the lives of so many and has been a wonderful husband, father, friend and role model," his family said in a statement. "We are enormously proud of Jim's remarkable accomplishments - before he was shot on the fateful day in 1981 while serving at the side of President Ronald Reagan and in the days, months and years that followed. Jim Brady's zest for life was apparent to all who knew him, and despite his injuries and the pain he endured every day, he used his humor, wit and charm to bring smiles to others and make the world a better place."

Brady was confined to a wheelchair after being shot and went on to become a leading voice for gun control.

In 1993, President Bill Clinton signed the Brady Handgun Violence Protection Act into law.

[bigdaddy45]

The responses to this thread are mind boggling. This poor guy, a strong conservative, gets shot in the head and has his brain totally scrambled. Then, he gets wheeled around for 30 years by his wife and set up as a prop for gun control. And the overwhelming sentiment on Free Republic? Good Riddance.

Lets see how well some of you would do with a scrambled frontal lobe. Shame on all of you. RIP Mr. Brady.

[LeonardFMason]

Agreed. He had the same capacity to reason as the dementia suffering Barry Goldwater when the press used to run to him for quotes near the end of his life.

Mrs. Brady, however, exploited James Brady to her everlasting shame.

[The Duke]

I remember back before the parasite class destroyed the economy I would pack up the family and we'd go blow $100 at the theater and another $100 at one of our favorite restaurants.

Now, however, this (currently down-and-out) former NASA engineer and tech company CEO will anxiously wait for it to come out on a cheap disk (if I bother to see it at all).

Hmmm...wonder how I can get me some of that "free stuff"??? Maybe if I just learn a little Spanish and wade north across the Rio Grande??? Hmmmm.....

[elcid1970]

A lot of the remarks on the passing of James Brady here at FR are clearly over the top. Got it.

But go read anything online of his biography so far. Brady was not vegetative and over the years recovered his ability to talk and walk. He was an active proponent of gun control & the Brady Bill & was not a semisensate prop being wheeled around by his wife, who of course was the more articulate spokesperson of the gun control duo.

And does anyone here recall that after Bill Clinton signed the Brady `assault weapon’ ban into law in 1993, that both the Bradys thanked him by addressing the 1996 Democratic Convention AS REPUBLICANS, where they endorsed Clinton’s reelection?

Criticize James Brady for what he was able to do after being wounded in 1981. He was capable of making clear choices, and did so.

[bigdaddy45]

How would any of us act after a bullet to the brain? It changes you in multiple ways that are beyond your control. I hold no malice towards the acts of someone after receiving a very traumatic brain injury. You just aren’t the same person afterwards.

[elcid1970]

Noted. The death of a loved one can leave the brain scrambled for years afterward, let alone by being shot. I know, looking back a decade later.

FWIW, those sites praising Brady for his antigun activism are emphasizing his general mental recovery. Maybe to make his wife look less like a prop wielding fanatic.

[PghBaldy]

I hope his family finds comfort. RIP.

[MasterGunner01]

For what it is worth, I heard that James Brady had a machine gun collection from a Class III dealer in AZ. He’s pretty well connected in this world and I believe him. getting Sarah Brady to confirm this would be like extracting all your teeth without any anesthesia.

[Slings and Arrows]

Much obliged, and just talking to Sarah Brady would be a deal-breaker for me.

[Georgia Girl 2]

Yeh I’m having a hard time working up any emotion over this myself.

[Vermont Lt]

I did not agree with him, but it can appreciate being anti gun after being shot in the head.

[Fuzz]

http://www.nytimes.com/1991/03/29/opinion/why-i-m-for-the-brady-bill.html

Why I’m for the Brady Bill

By Ronald Reagan; Ronald Reagan, in announcing support for the Brady bill yesterday, reminded his audience he is a member of the National Rifle Association.
Published: March 29, 1991

[Pelham]

Well said.

[hinckley buzzard]

Believe what you want chief. Sounds like bull sh!t to me. Brady was in no condition to be going out and buying machine guns. And with his wife running his affairs? Use your head, f'r crissakes. Or do you think he had them thirty odd years ago before he got shot. Really? sheesh.

[pack29172]

I agree doorgunner, to some extent, we are are all tools. I hope that in my cause I am a very sharp, useful tool.

That said, later in the year of 1981, I named my first born son, Brady, in his honor. Jim Brady’s honor was beyond his any longer and he became the puppet of his wife. RIP Jim, glad they are short one tool to use.

[smokingfrog]

He doesn't need his wheelchair any more but is probably dancing on the hot coals with his good buddy Helen Thomas right about now.

[Candor7]

Let this be the final line in the final chapter of a sordid book , dedicated to the loss of American Freedom.

Brady was wrong. He should have been more concerned with the control of mental health patients who are violent whackos, rather than attacking the 160 or more million Americans who safely own and use firearms as a 2nd amendment right.

[DH]

James Brady allowed himself to become the poster boy for those who dreamed about the removal of the 2nd Amendment from our Bill of Rights.

Now, look at the damage he is personally responsible for in the attack upon our lawful freedoms and responsibilities.

Rot in Hell you putrid piece of excrement for the damage you have done has doomed us to absolute government control WITHOUT REPRESENTATION or adherence to the original rule of law that founded our nation.

[Old Teufel Hunden]

"Reagan signed one of the worst pieces of gun control legislation ever. The misnamed “Firearm Owners’ Protection Act of 1986.” No new select fire weapons were permitted in civilian hands. Some of the other provisions of the Act were OK, but that one was unconstitutional on its face."

That was a last minute amendment stuck in the bill by Bill Hughes. You can watch it here:

Hughes Amendment

As you can see, our buddy Charlie Rangle was presiding over the hearing and the voice vote was clearly for the nays. He ruled that is was passed. Even so, there were a lot of good things in this bill. The NRA supported it. Things like transferring weapons between states. Before, you could be driving through a state to go hunting in some other state and be illegal and jailed. Now, if you have the gun properly stored in your car, you can travel anywhere with your guns and ammo.

[jospehm20]

Brady was a hypocrite.