Brady Campaign
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The Brady Campaign or The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence or The Brady Campaign united with the Million Mom March was founded in 1974 as The National Council to Control Handguns (NCCH) by Dr. Mark Borinsky, a victim of gun violence.[1] The NCCH was re-named Handgun Control, Inc. from 1980 until 2001. On June 14, 2001, Handgun Control, Inc. was renamed the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence has always been, and still is, a political lobbying group promoting the cause of gun control.
The Brady Campaign was the chief supporter of the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, known as the "Brady Bill", enacted in 1993 after several years of debate; and successfully lobbied for passage of the first-ever Federal assault weapons ban, banning the manufacture and importation of so-called military-style "assault weapons", a provision that gun-rights critics called arbitrary and symbolic. The ban was damaged by gun manufacturers who either worked to circumvent the law by altering certain prohibited features and changing the name of their firearms, or, alternatively, who responded to the changes required in new gun laws by providing what was required by legislators, depending on one's point of view.
Since 1994, the Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) reports that the Brady Act has stopped more than 1,000,000 people from purchasing modern handguns on the grounds of a criminal record or other prohibited status.[2] In general, half of the denials were made by state and local agencies and half by the FBI. From 1999 through 2003, BJS reports that "58 percent of the denials by state and local agencies were for the applicant's felony conviction or indictment, 13 percent for a domestic violence misdemeanor conviction or restraining order, and the remainder for other reasons."
According to the Government Accounting Office, "as of July 1995 a total of seven persons (nationally) had been successfully prosecuted for making false statements on the Brady handgun purchase form." For comparison, the same report reveals that in 30 randomly-selected jurisdictions over March 1994 through January 1995, a total of 441,545 applications were processed, of which 15,506 were initially denied, for a 3.5% denial rate. [3] Newer data show that an estimated 8,000 persons were arrested from 1999 to 2003 for an outstanding warrant or submission of false information on an application, according to Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (BATF, formerly ATF).[4]
The immediate question is what changed this arrest/conviction rate, from an insignificant total of 7 over 17 months to over 8,000 individuals over four years, in just four years, from 1995 to 1999? Gun rights activists contend that the key factor that changed was the Lautenberg Amendment, passed September 30, 1996, that added those convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence to the list of prohibited purchasers. The amendment also bars from handgun ownership those subject to a current restraining order "from harassing, stalking or threatening an intimate partner or child of such partner". For example, if a soldier who slaps her husband, even if 10 years prior to the passage of the Lautenberg Amendment, was ever convicted, she can no longer legally own or handle guns, even as a soldier, nor can she legally buy a handgun. Similarly, by this same amendment, if she simply fills out a Brady form [5]to buy a handgun, and simply forgets about or intentionally lies about her prior misdemeanor conviction, she has automatically committed a felony. Some contend that it was this factor alone which changed the number of arrests and convictions over the span of just a few years. (See Firearm Owners Protection Act for details on the Lautenberg Amendment being declared unconstitutional in 1999, in one Federal court.[6] This one case was reversed; see U.S. v. Emerson, 270 F.3d 203 (5th Cir. 2001)). [7]
Gun-control advocates believe the Brady Law has lowered crime and saved lives through denying over 1,000,000 handgun purchases.
Gun-rights advocates believe the number of permanently denied handgun purchases under the Brady Law are much smaller. Data from the Government Accounting Office indicate that over a 35 month period from November 30, 1998 through October 7, 2001, a total of 199,720 denials occurred, of which 63.6% were for Felony Convictions, 13.9% were for Domestic Violence Misdemeanors, 9.1% were for other criminal history, 5.0% were for drug abuse, 3.8% were for Domestic Restraining Orders, 2.8% were for Fugitive Warrants, 0.4% were for Mental Defective reasons, and the remaining 1.4% of the denials were for other reasons, such as state protection orders or illegal alien citizenship status.[8] The Government Accounting Office reports that from 1999 to 2004, "of the 916,000 denials by the FBI and State and local agencies in the first 6 years of the permanent Brady period (i.e. 1999-2004), 138,000 (15%) were appealed. Of the appealed denials, 49,000 (36%) were reversed." In other words, between 1999 and 2004, of the 916,000 denials, almost 95% or 868,000, stood up on appeal or were not appealed by the person attempting to purchase the gun. Of course, it is not possible to extrapolate the percentage of the 85% who, once denied, and who never bothered to appeal the denial, would likewise have had their denials reversed had they simply appealed. According to the GAO, "the vast majority of disputed denials are resolved at the administrative level." [9]
Some critics claim that the Brady Campaign has been largely ineffective since the Democratic Party lost control of Congress in January 1995. Since then the "assault weapons" ban has been allowed to expire; legislation protecting gun manufacturers and dealers against lawsuits by crime victims has been enacted in Congress and in several States; and the pro-gun opinions of former senator John Ashcroft were no impediment to his confirmation as Attorney General in 2001.
The affiliated Million Mom March, started as one of the largest marches on Washington, is now a national network of 75 Chapters around the U.S. that work locally in their fight against gun violence and the devastation such violence causes. The Million Mom March partially collapsed immediately after its first event, financially as well as in terms of recruitment. Its web site shows that the organization developed grassroots membership in 75 chapters across the country but has not yet become the "anti-NRA" its organizers had hoped it would become. The Million Mom March was additionally supported by the League of Women Voters, a non-partisan organization that nonetheless takes the gun control side associated with but one political party's view on gun politics (that is, the Democrats). [10]
The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence is a sister organization that was also spun out of Handgun Control, Inc. on June 14, 2001. It is a registered not-for-profit organization which focuses on education and litigation and not political lobbying.
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Leadership
James Brady and his wife, Sarah, have been influential in the organization since at least the mid-80s. James Brady was shot and permanently crippled by John Hinckley, Jr. on March 30, 1981.
Sarah Brady became the Chair of Handgun Control, Inc. in 1989, replacing Pete Shields, who had held that position since 1978.
Since 2000 former Maryland Congressman Michael D. Barnes has been the president of the Brady Campaign.
Identity confusion
As noted previously, the Brady Campaign was founded in 1974 as The National Council to Control Handguns (NCCH). Unfortunately, this name was often confused with the similarly-named "The National Council to Ban Handguns", subsequently known as "The Coalition to Stop Gun Violence" also started in 1974. [11],[12] These two organizations, The National Council to Control Handguns (NCCH) and "The National Council to Ban Handguns" were entirely separate organizations.
Further reading
- "A Reporter At Large: Handguns," The New Yorker, July 26, 1976, pp. 57-58
See also
- Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence
- List of United States firearms topics
- Coalition to Stop Gun Violence