Sarah Brady and her husband, Jim, have been tireless champions of sensible gun laws.

Jim Brady was shot on March 30, 1981 during the assassination attempt of President Ronald Reagan. Jim was President Reagan's press secretary at the time. Jim suffered a serious head wound that left him partially paralyzed for life.

Since the mid-1980's, Sarah and Jim have spent countless hours lobbying for common sense gun laws.

On November 30, 1993, President Bill Clinton signed the “Brady Handgun Violence Protection Act”, also known as the “Brady Bill,” into law. The enactment of the Brady law (effective February 28, 1994) changed this “lie-and-buy” system to a “background check-then-buy” system by requiring that every sale of a gun by a licensed dealer be referred to law enforcement for a background check.

Since that time 1.7 million prohibited purchasers have been stopped from buying guns.

The Brady law requires that individuals seeking to buy a gun at a licensed dealer pass a background check. Because guns are especially lethal weapons, it makes sense that before someone can own one, he or she meet the legal requirements for ownership. This simple step protects everyone — gun owners and non-gun owners alike — from the danger of high-risk people gaining access to lethal weapons.

The Brady Law was implemented in two stages. The purpose of the two-stage implementation was to provide time to organize and computerize criminal history and other relevant records and for the Federal Bureau of Investigation to develop the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS).

Sarah serves as Chair of the Brady Campaign and the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence. She serves on the Board of Trustees.

In Her Own Words

"Most people think I got seriously involved in the gun violence issue when Jim was shot. But it was actually another incident that started my active participation with gun violence prevention efforts.

It was back in the summer of 1985. Our family was visiting Jim's hometown, Centralia, Illinois. At that time, our son Scott was just six years old. We had some friends who owned a construction company and they had a lovely home at the edge of town that had a swimming pool.

One day, our friend and an employee stopped by in a company pickup truck and asked if Scott and I would like to go out to the house for a swim. We thought that was a great idea. Scott got in first, and I climbed in behind him. He picked up off the seat what looked like a toy gun, and started waving it around, and I thought this was a perfect chance to talk to him about safety. So I took the little gun from him, intending to say he must never point even a toy gun at anyone.

As soon as I got it into my hand, I realized it was no toy. It was a fully-loaded Saturday-night special, very much like the one that had shot Jim. I cannot even begin to describe the rage that went through me. To think that my precious little boy had come so close to tragedy. My friend hopped in the truck and then the employee got in. I gave my friend the gun and asked her to put it away immediately. They both knew I was upset.

The rest of that day I could think of nothing else. I was disappointed and shocked. My father had been an FBI agent, and I'd grown up with a gun in my home. But this didn't make sense -- someone allowing a gun to lie around.

From that day on, I decided that much more needed to be done to help keep children safe from guns. And since that time, I have fought against the gun lobby and anyone else who wants guns "anywhere, at any time for any one."

She and Jim were the 1991 recipients of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations' "Maurice N. Eisendrath Bearer of Light Award". In 1992, along with her husband, Jim, Sarah received the "C. Everett Koop Health Advocate Award" from the American Hospital Association's American Society for Health Care Marketing & Public Relations. In 1993, she received the "Communicator of the Year" Award from the League of Women Voters of the United States. Sarah received "America's Finest" Award presented from the New England Institute of Technology. In 1994, she received the Lenore and George W. Romney Citizen Volunteer Award with her husband, Jim.

In 1996, Sarah and Jim received the Margaret Chase Smith Award presented by the Secretaries of State. In 1997, the Violence Prevention Coalition honored Sarah with the Angel of Peace Award and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine presented her with the 1997 Spirit of Achievement Award. Also in 1997, Sarah, along with poet Rita Dove, U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and Washington Post Chair Katharine Graham, was named one of Sara Lee's Frontrunners by the Sara Lee Foundation.

The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, with Jim and Sarah Brady, is marking the 30th anniversary of the assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan by highlighting the many accomplishments of the Bradys in their decades-long quest to prevent gun violence.

The Brady's tireless efforts culminated in the passage of the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act in 1993.

The Brady law has blocked an estimated 2 million prohibited gun purchases and helped save countless lives. After the law was adopted, murders dropped 30 percent.  Most of the drop in murders — 73 percent — was accounted for by the sharp decline in gun murders.

» Click here for the the 30 year timeline (pdf)
» Click here for a video timeline
» Click here for a 2010 academic study of Brady's impact
» Click here to read Sarah Brady's editorial in the Washington Post

Click here to listen to Jim and Sarah's story on National Public Radio.

Sarah was born on February 6, 1942, in Kirksville, Missouri and was raised in Alexandria, Virginia. She received her B.A. from the College of William and Mary in 1964. In 1973, she married James Scott Brady and they have a son, James Scott Brady, Jr.In 1970,

From 1964 to 1968, Sarah was a public school teacher in Virginia. For the next ten years, she worked actively in various capacities within the Republican Party. She served as Assistant to the Campaign Director at the National Republican Congressional Committee from 1968 to 1970.

Sarah joined the staff of U.S. Representative Mike McKevitt (R-CO) as an Administrative Aide. She held the same position in Congressman Joseph J. Maraziti's office (R-NJ) from 1972-1974. During the next four years, Sarah was Director of Administration and Coordinator of Field Services for the Republican National Committee.

Sarah has been active in the gun control movement since the mid-1980s, becoming Chair of Handgun Control, Inc. (HCI) in 1989. Two years later, she became Chair of the Center to Prevent Handgun Violence, HCI's sister organization, a 501(c)(3) organization working to reduce gun violence through education, research, and legal advocacy.

In 1993, the Brady Bill was signed into law. In 1996, Sarah continued to lead the gun control movement by addressing the National Democratic Convention in Chicago, Illinois.

In December 2000, the Boards of Trustees for Handgun Control and the Center to Prevent Handgun Violence voted to honor Jim and Sarah Brady's hard work and commitment to gun control by renaming the two organizations the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence.

Sarah's past activities include chairing the Building Committee for the Republican National Committee Annex, serving as a delegate to five Virginia Republican State Conventions, and serving as an Honorary Regent of the National Federation of Republican Women. She also sat on the Board of the Easter Seals Society and the Board of Alumni of the College of William and Mary. Sarah also serves as the Honorary Chairperson of the National Brain Injury Foundation.

Some of the honors bestowed on Sarah include being named "Washingtonian of the Year" in 1983 by Washingtonian Magazine; "USO Woman of the Year" in 1984; one of MS. Magazine's "Women of the Year" in 1988; one of 1989's "100 Most Powerful Women in Washington" by Washingtonian Magazine; and one of Glamour Magazine's "Women of the Year" in 1990 (its inaugural year).

In 1991, Mrs. Brady received the "Excellence in Public Service" Award from the American Academy of Pediatrics; the "National Hero --Life Savers and Crusaders" Award from the Big Brothers/Big Sisters of America; and one of the "Mothers of the Year" awards from the National Mother's Day Committee.

She and Jim were the 1991 recipients of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations' "Maurice N. Eisendrath Bearer of Light Award". In 1992, along with her husband, Jim, Sarah received the "C. Everett Koop Health Advocate Award" from the American Hospital Association's American Society for Health Care Marketing & Public Relations. In 1993, she received the "Communicator of the Year" Award from the League of Women Voters of the United States. Sarah received "America's Finest" Award presented from the New England Institute of Technology. In 1994, she received the Lenore and George W. Romney Citizen Volunteer Award with her husband, Jim.

In 1996, Sarah and Jim received the Margaret Chase Smith Award presented by the Secretaries of State. In 1997, the Violence Prevention Coalition honored Sarah with the Angel of Peace Award and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine presented her with the 1997 Spirit of Achievement Award. Also in 1997, Sarah, along with poet Rita Dove, U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and Washington Post Chair Katharine Graham, was named one of Sara Lee's Frontrunners by the Sara Lee Foundation.