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TODAY'S HIGH SCHOOL MURDER--Today the national sickness visited Troutdale, Oregon. One student dead. One teacher wounded. Let's amend the graphic above to 9,485.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/06/10/320680875/reports-of-shots-fired-at-oregon-high-school
UPDATE: MORE MURDERS UPDATED AT END OF THIS BLOG |
THE BRADY CAMPAIGN AND CENTER—After each gun violence episode in
this nation, so many of us ask what can be done to end the madness. ALREADY in place are dedicated individuals
and organizations in operation today working hard to end gun violence. We need to support them. This blog in its small way will feature an Anti-violence organization each time a mass SCHOOL shooting occurs in this
nation. This blog spotlights The Brady
Campaign and its allied groups. If nothing
else, let’s stick a $5 bill or more in an envelope and donate it.
http://www.bradycampaign.org/bradycenter
WE ARE BETTER THAN THIS
WeAreBetterThanThis.org
is dedicated to providing a forum where Americans of all ages can share their
stories of how gun violence has affected them personally. Please take a moment
and share your story with us so that we may share it with others to help them
understand the devastation gun violence causes in peoples lives and to help us
make a real change in how America handles gun control.
MILLION MOM MARCH
LEGAL ACTION
PROJECT
JIM AND SARAH BRADY
It’s been
more than 30 years since the assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan
when Jim Brady was shot. Since that day,
Jim and Sarah Brady, along with the Brady Campaign, have been on a decades-long
quest to prevent gun violence.
The Bradys'
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. The Brady’s continued
leadership has been a driving force on gun violence prevention.
About
Jim Brady
Jim
"The Bear" Brady was born in Centralia, Illinois on August 29, 1940.
In 1962, Jim graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with
a Bachelor of Science in political science. Jim began his career in public
service as a staff member in the office of Illinois Senator Everett Dirksen.
During the summer of 1962, he was an Honor Intern at the U.S. Department of
Justice Anti-Trust Division. Jim held numerous positions in the private sector
in Illinois, including Executive and Vice President of James and Thomas
Advertising and Public Relations.
In 1973, Jim
moved to Washington, D.C. and served as Special Assistant to the Secretary of
Housing and Urban Development; Special Assistant to the Director of the Office
of Management and Budget; Assistant to the Secretary of Defense; and member of
the staff of Senator William Roth. He also served as Press Secretary to then
presidential candidate John Connally. Jim was Spokesperson for the Office of
the President-Elect and Director of Public Affairs and Research for the
Reagan-Bush Committee.
He married
Sarah Jane Kemp in 1973. Their son, James Scott Brady, Jr., was born in 1978.
Jim also has a daughter, Melissa, from a previous marriage.
In January
1981, Jim achieved a lifelong career goal when President Ronald Reagan
appointed him Assistant to the President and White House Press Secretary. His
service, however, was cut short on March 30, 1981, when a mentally unstable
young man, John Hinckley, attempted to assassinate the President, and shot
President Reagan, Jim, and two law enforcement officers. Jim suffered a serious
head wound that left him partially paralyzed for life. Although Jim never
worked as press secretary after the shooting, he kept the title for the
remainder of President Reagan's presidency.
Since
leaving the White House, Jim has spent countless hours lobbying with his wife
Sarah, Chair of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence (formerly Handgun
Control), for common sense gun laws.
On November
30, 1993, after a seven-year battle, President Bill Clinton signed the “Brady
Handgun Violence Protection Act” into law. The enactment of the Brady law
changed the existing “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.
The law has
been an unqualified success. Since 1994, more than 2 million
attempts-to-purchase at gun stores by prohibited purchasers have been stopped
from buying guns. This simple step protects everyone — gun owners and non-gun
owners alike — from the danger of guns falling into the hands of criminals and
other prohibited purchasers.
In 1996, Jim
received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Clinton, the highest
civilian award in the United States. On February 11, 2000, President Clinton
officially named the White House Press Briefing Room "The James S. Brady
Press Briefing Room" in Jim Brady's honor. A plaque honoring him for his
service as White House Press Secretary now hangs in the room.
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. Jim serves as an
Honorary Member of the Board of Trustees of both the Brady Campaign and Center
to Prevent Gun Violence. Jim is a recipient of the Distinguished Eagle Scout
Award from the Boy Scouts of America and is member of the Sigma Chi fraternity.
About
Sarah Brady
Sarah Brady
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.
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.
In 1973, she
married James Scott Brady. Their son, James Scott Brady, Jr., was born in 1978.
Sarah’s life
changed forever when Jim, then President Reagan’s press secretary, was severely
injured during the assassination attempt on President Reagan. Jim Brady had
achieved a lifelong career goal when President Ronald Reagan appointed him
Assistant to the President and White House Press Secretary in January of 1981.
His service, however, was tragically cut short on March 30, 1981, when a
mentally unstable young man, John Hinckley, shot President Reagan, Jim, and two
law enforcement officers. Jim suffered a serious head wound that left him
partially paralyzed for life.
Sarah
decided to join the fight for common sense gun laws in the mid-1980’s after her
young son Scott happened upon a loaded handgun in the car of an acquaintance
when they were back home in Jim’s home town of Centralia, Illinois. Sarah and
Scott were being picked up to go swimming. Sarah’s rage at her son’s near miss
turned into a vow to fight the “guns anywhere” mentality that the National
Rifle Association fosters.
On November
30, 1993, after a seven-year battle, 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 the existing
“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.
The law has
been an unqualified success. Since 1994, more than 2 million
attempts-to-purchase at gun stores by prohibited purchasers have been stopped
from buying guns. This simple step protects everyone — gun owners and non-gun
owners alike — from the danger of guns falling in to the hands of criminals and
other prohibited purchasers.
Sarah became
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 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 serves as Chair of the Brady Campaign and the
Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence.
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.
http://www.cnn.com/2014/06/12/justice/arizona-church-shooting?sr=socialfb061214azchurchshooting1030aVODtopLink
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