After the horrific shooting tragedy in Tucson in January of this year, many folks across the political spectrum began asking whether the ease of access that people have to assault weapons capacity — or the ease of circumventing background checks by buying weapons at gun shows — was where it should be.
Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, who continues to recover is going to be the Jim Brady of the next generation. Jim Brady, Ronald Reagan’s press secretary, was reported dead 30 years ago after being shot in an assassination attempt against the President but like Giffords who was also declared dead ‘wasn’t.’ Brady with the support of his wife and a team at the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence has become a force in the nation advocating reasonable gun management laws.
Surprisingly and refreshingly, after the Giffords event tragedy, former Vice President Dick Cheney — who must be in an NRA Hall of Fame somewhere — began to question whether people should have easy access to high capacity magazine clips for handguns. The Brady Campaign has now termed these magazines “assault clips” — which they are. Brady Center President and former Fort Wayne, Indiana Mayor Paul Helmke — a Republican — has been leading this new assault on “assault clips.”
Helmke and his team and Brady Center board are moving to challenge the National Rifle Association’s fear tactics and lobbying power in Washington.
Just today the Brady Campaign has released a powerful ad produced by colleagues and friends of mine at Fenton. The ad runs above — but it makes the point that all of us can be targets, the world we know can change in a few seconds, and it’s not part of our constitutional rights that allow us to carry and own guns to be able to shoot 30 some odd bullets in a few seconds.
Great ad. Great mission. And a salute to Gabby Giffords and Jim Brady for inspiring an important movement out of their personal struggles.
— Steve Clemons
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