James Brady

James Brady
Born	James Scott Brady 29 8, 1940
Birthplace	Centralia, Illinois, U.S.
Died	Template:Death date and age Alexandria, Virginia, U.S.
Nationality	American
Occupation	Political aide, press secretary, activist
Known for	White House Press Secretary under Ronald Reagan; gun control advocacy after being shot in the 1981 Reagan assassination attempt
Education	University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign (BA)

James Scott Brady (August 29, 1940 – August 4, 2014) was an American political aide and activist who served as the 17th White House Press Secretary under President Ronald Reagan. Born in Centralia, Illinois, Brady built a career in Republican politics and government communications before being appointed to the nation's most prominent public affairs post on the first day of the Reagan administration in January 1981. His tenure was dramatically altered just over two months later, on March 30, 1981, when John Hinckley Jr. shot Brady in the head during an attempted assassination of President Reagan outside the Washington Hilton Hotel. The shooting left Brady with permanent brain injuries, partial paralysis, and significant physical disabilities that he endured for the rest of his life. Despite never fully recovering, Brady retained the formal title of White House Press Secretary throughout the entirety of Reagan's two terms in office, even as Larry Speakes and others performed the day-to-day duties of the role. In the years following the shooting, Brady and his wife, Sarah Brady, became prominent advocates for gun control legislation in the United States. Their efforts culminated in the passage of the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act in 1993, which mandated federal background checks on firearm purchasers. Brady's death in 2014, more than three decades after the shooting, was ruled a homicide by the Virginia medical examiner, who determined that the gunshot wound he sustained in 1981 was the ultimate cause of his death.

Early Life

James Scott Brady was born on August 29, 1940, in Centralia, Illinois, a small city in the southern portion of the state. He grew up in the community and was known by the nickname "Bear" throughout much of his life. Brady spent his formative years in Illinois, where he developed an interest in politics and communications that would define his professional career.

Details about Brady's parents and family background during his childhood in Centralia are consistent with a middle-class upbringing in a small Midwestern American town. The values of his community in southern Illinois would later be reflected in his Republican political affiliations and his career trajectory in government service.

Education

Brady attended the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree. His time at the university provided him with the foundation for a career in politics and public communications. The University of Illinois, one of the state's flagship public institutions, was a common starting point for young professionals entering Illinois politics and government service during the mid-twentieth century.

Career

Early Political Career

After completing his education, Brady entered the world of Republican politics and government communications. He built a career as a political operative and communications professional, working in various capacities within the Republican Party infrastructure and for elected officials. His skills in public relations and media management gained him recognition within the party, and he steadily advanced through positions of increasing responsibility in the political world.

Brady's first marriage, to Sue Beh, lasted from 1960 to 1967, encompassing the early years of his professional career. He would later marry Sarah Kemp, who became his partner not only in life but also in their shared advocacy work following the 1981 shooting.

White House Press Secretary

Brady was appointed as the 17th White House Press Secretary on January 20, 1981, the day of Ronald Reagan's inauguration as the 40th President of the United States. He succeeded Jody Powell, who had served in the role under President Jimmy Carter. In his new position, Brady served as the primary spokesperson for the Reagan administration and was responsible for conducting daily press briefings, managing the flow of information from the White House to the media, and coordinating the administration's communications strategy.

Brady's active service as press secretary lasted only approximately two months and ten days. During that brief period, he was involved in the early stages of setting the communications tone for the new Reagan administration, a period marked by significant policy ambitions including tax reform, deregulation, and defense spending increases.

Assassination Attempt and Injuries

On March 30, 1981, as President Reagan and his entourage were leaving the Washington Hilton Hotel after a speaking engagement, John Hinckley Jr. opened fire with a .22 caliber Röhm RG-14 revolver. Hinckley fired six shots in approximately 1.7 seconds. One bullet struck Brady in the left side of his forehead, passing through his brain. President Reagan was also struck by a ricocheting bullet that lodged near his heart, while Secret Service agent Timothy McCarthy and Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police officer Thomas Delahanty were also wounded in the attack.

The bullet that struck Brady caused catastrophic damage to his brain. Initial news reports on the day of the shooting erroneously reported that Brady had died from his injuries. He survived but underwent emergency brain surgery and spent months in the hospital. The injury left Brady with permanent brain damage, partial paralysis on the left side of his body, memory difficulties, and the need to use a wheelchair for the remainder of his life. His speech was also affected, though he retained his ability to communicate and his sense of humor, which those close to him noted remained intact despite the severity of his injuries.

Despite his incapacitation, Brady was never formally replaced as White House Press Secretary during the Reagan administration. Larry Speakes assumed the day-to-day duties of the position in an acting capacity, and later Marlin Fitzwater also served in the role, but Brady retained the official title until the end of Reagan's second term on January 20, 1989. This arrangement was seen as a gesture of loyalty and respect from President Reagan toward Brady.

The long road to partial recovery was arduous. Brady underwent extensive rehabilitation over the course of years. A 2010 account described the ongoing physical challenges Brady faced decades after the shooting, noting the toll the injury continued to take on his daily life. By 2011, on the thirtieth anniversary of the shooting, NPR profiled Brady's life and condition, documenting the lasting effects of the injury and the way it had reshaped both his personal existence and his public role.

Gun Control Advocacy

The 1981 shooting transformed Brady and his wife Sarah into two of the most prominent gun control advocates in the United States. Together, they became the public faces of a sustained campaign to enact federal legislation requiring background checks for firearm purchases. The couple worked through what became known as the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence (originally Handgun Control, Inc.) to push for legislative reform.

Their central legislative achievement was the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, commonly known as the Brady Bill. First introduced in Congress in 1987, the legislation faced years of opposition from the National Rifle Association and many Republican lawmakers. After multiple failed attempts, the Brady Bill was signed into law by President Bill Clinton on November 30, 1993. The law mandated federal background checks on firearm purchasers in the United States and imposed a five-day waiting period for handgun purchases (the waiting period provision later expired and was replaced by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System).

The Brady Act represented one of the most significant pieces of federal gun control legislation enacted in the United States in the latter half of the twentieth century. Brady himself attended the signing ceremony in his wheelchair, a powerful visual reminder of the human cost of gun violence that had motivated the legislation.

The Brady Campaign continued its advocacy work in subsequent years, pushing for additional gun control measures at both the federal and state levels. James Brady remained associated with the organization and its mission, though his active participation was limited by his physical condition. Sarah Brady took on a more visible day-to-day leadership role in the advocacy efforts.

Personal Life

Brady married Sue Beh in 1960; the couple divorced in 1967. He subsequently married Sarah Kemp, who became widely known as Sarah Brady through her gun control advocacy work. The couple remained married until his death in 2014.

Brady's personal life after the 1981 shooting was defined by his ongoing struggle with the physical and cognitive effects of his injuries. He required constant care and assistance with many daily activities. Despite these challenges, Brady was noted for maintaining his sense of humor and his engagement with public life. Those who knew him described his wit and warmth as qualities that persisted even as his physical capabilities diminished over the decades.

Brady lived in the Alexandria, Virginia area for much of his later life, near the nation's capital where he had built his career.

Death

James Brady died on August 4, 2014, at the age of 73, at his home in Alexandria, Virginia. Following his death, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Virginia ruled his death a homicide, determining that it was caused by the gunshot wound he had sustained 33 years earlier in the 1981 assassination attempt. The medical examiner concluded that the brain injury Brady suffered on March 30, 1981, was the proximate cause of his death.

The homicide ruling raised the legal question of whether John Hinckley Jr. could face murder charges. However, prosecutors ultimately decided not to pursue additional charges against Hinckley. Legal experts noted several complicating factors, including the fact that Hinckley had been found not guilty by reason of insanity for the 1981 shooting, and the considerable legal complexity of prosecuting a murder case based on a wound inflicted more than three decades earlier.

President Barack Obama issued a statement following Brady's death, paying tribute to his service and his advocacy for gun violence prevention.

Recognition

Brady received numerous honors and awards during his lifetime for both his public service and his advocacy work. He was a recipient of the Jefferson Award for Public Service, one of the most notable recognitions of community and public service in the United States.

In a lasting tribute to his service, the White House Press Briefing Room was renamed the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room in his honor in 2000. The renaming recognized both his service as press secretary and the personal sacrifice he endured in the line of duty. The Brady Briefing Room remains one of the most recognizable rooms in the White House and is seen by millions of Americans during televised press briefings.

The Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act itself stands as perhaps the most significant tribute to Brady's legacy, as it permanently attached his name to federal gun control legislation. The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence also bear his name, ensuring that his advocacy is memorialized through ongoing organizational work.

Brady's story was dramatized in the 2001 television film The Day Reagan Was Shot, which depicted the events of March 30, 1981, and their aftermath. A subsequent production, Killing Reagan, based on the book by Bill O'Reilly, aired on the National Geographic Channel in 2016 and also depicted Brady's wounding during the assassination attempt.

Legacy

James Brady's legacy is multifaceted, encompassing his brief but notable tenure as White House Press Secretary, his role as a symbol of the human cost of gun violence, and his transformation into one of the most effective gun control advocates in American history. The shooting of March 30, 1981, turned Brady from a relatively anonymous political operative into a nationally recognized figure whose personal tragedy catalyzed a major shift in the American debate over firearms regulation.

The Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act remains the legislative centerpiece of his legacy. Since its enactment in 1993, the law's background check requirements have resulted in millions of background checks being conducted on prospective firearm purchasers, and hundreds of thousands of sales have been denied to prohibited persons. The law fundamentally changed the process of purchasing firearms in the United States and established the principle of federal background checks as a baseline requirement of gun sales through licensed dealers.

Brady's experience also contributed to broader discussions about the long-term effects of traumatic brain injuries and the medical, personal, and legal questions that arise when victims of violence survive for decades with debilitating injuries. The medical examiner's ruling of his death as a homicide in 2014 highlighted the enduring consequences of gun violence and raised novel legal questions about the temporal limits of criminal liability.

The research community also took note of Brady's case. A 2011 article in Nature discussed aspects of the scientific and medical dimensions related to the shooting and its aftermath.

Within the context of American political history, Brady is remembered as a figure who bridged the partisan divide on gun control. As a lifelong Republican who had served a conservative president, his advocacy for firearm regulation carried a bipartisan credibility that few other gun control proponents could claim. His willingness to champion a cause that put him at odds with many in his own party underscored the depth of his commitment to the issue and the transformative impact the shooting had on his worldview.

The James S. Brady Press Briefing Room continues to serve as a daily reminder of his service and sacrifice, making Brady one of the few White House staff members whose name has been permanently affixed to a prominent feature of the executive mansion. For generations of journalists, political operatives, and members of the public, the Brady Briefing Room serves as a tangible connection to the events of March 30, 1981, and to the man whose life was irrevocably altered on that day.