Wife of gun victim Brady praises Clinton .
CHICAGO 1996-08-26
Sarah Brady , whose Republican husband was severely disabled in an assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan , took centre stage at the Democratic National convention on Monday night to praise President Bill Clinton 's gun control efforts .
With her husband James sitting in a wheelchair to the side of the podium , Mrs. Brady called the handgun control bill that a Democratic Congress passed and Clinton signed in 1994 a major step in controlling firearm violence in the United States .
But she said more had to be done .
The Bradys walked on to the stage , he on her arm and with the aid of a cane , to a rousing reception from the convention .
Their teenaged son sat in a VIP box with first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton and watched as his father returned to his wheelchair .
" Jim , we must have made a wrong turn .
This is n't San Diego ( site of the Republican convention ) , " Mrs. Brady joked to her husband , who was serving as Reagan 's press secretary when he was shot .
" Sarah , I told you this is the Democratic convention , " he responded to his wife , who before the shooting had worked for two Republican congressmen and the Republican national party .
" Since the Brady Law went into effect on February 28 , 1994 ( it ) has stopped more than 100,000 convicted felons and other prohibited purchasers from buying a handgun .
Today , and every day , the Brady Law is stopping an estimated 85 felons from buying a handgun , " Mrs. Brady said .
She added , " But we need to do more .
We should , as President Clinton proposed today , stop people convicted of domestic violence from buying a handgun .
Jim and I join with you tonight in saluting the great job that President Clinton has done in fighting crime and gun violence . "
" He 's a hunter and a sportsman , but he understands the difference between a Remington rifle and an AK47 .
And he knows that you do n't go hunting with an Uzi .
Mr. President you deserve our thanks . "
Jim Brady then gave a big thumbs to the audience .
Brady
was shot in the head in 1981 by gunman John Hinckley , who tried to kill Reagan in a deranged bid to impress Jodie Foster , an actress he never met but with whom he was obsessed .
The Brady bill , calling for a waiting period before someone could buy a gun so a background check could be made , was first introduced in Congress in 1987 but it took seven years to pass because of opposition from the National Rifle Association gun lobby .