R.I.P. James Brady

[The Man]

James Brady Passes Away, Will No Longer Try To Put Your Guns In FEMA Camps | Wonkette

Brady was Reagan’s press secretary for the first two months of the Great Communicator’s presidency. He was shot in the head by John Hinckley Jr. on March 30, 1981, when Hinckley failed to either kill Reagan or win the heart of Jodie Foster, who only loves winners. Brady was permanently disabled, spending the rest of his life in a wheelchair. Though he could no longer work as press secretary, he still held the title for the duration of Reagan’s presidency while others stood in as deputy or acting press secretary. Which, when you think about it, was kind of what happened with Reagan himself.

The shooting turned Brady into a gun-control advocate and obvious hater of freedom. He and his wife, Sarah, lobbied hard for years for a law that eventually became the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, signed into law by President Clinton in 1993. The Brady Act established the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, a database that federally licensed gun dealers must use to run a background check on any potential gun buyer who does not already have a state-issued concealed or open-carry permit. The Bradys argued that such a check could have kept a gun out of Hinckley’s hands, since the wannabe assassin had been under psychiatric care and had been arrested in Nashville for trying to board a plane with several guns in his carry-on bag just four days before he shot Reagan and Brady.

In the 1990s, when he was pressing for the Brady bill, Mr. Brady dismissed as “lamebrain nonsense” the National Rifle Association’s contention that a waiting period would inconvenience law-abiding people who had reason to buy a gun. The idea behind the waiting period was to give the seller time to check on whether the prospective purchaser had a criminal record or had lied in supplying information on the required documents.

Mr. Brady said that five business days was not too much to make purchasers wait. Every day, he once testified, “I need help getting out of bed, help taking a shower and help getting dressed, and — damn it — I need help going to the bathroom. I guess I’m paying for their ‘convenience.’ ”

[Dingfod]

John Hinkley Jr. should be tried for murder now, right?

[Iacchus]

Of course one does not need a permit in order to get a gun. The Brady Law just means folks like Hinkly can't purchase one legally. So no, it doesn't prohibit Hinkly from purchasing a gun necessarily. The Brady Law is just an illusion at best.

[Dingfod]

The Brady Law is only about the 5 day waiting periods and/or background checks to buy a handgun, not about permits. I don't think The Brady Law would not have stopped John Hinkley from being able to buy a gun because he had no prior criminal record and there is still no national database of the mentally ill.

[lisarea]

IIRC, he'd really only been treated for some depression prior to that. He was weird but not super obviously delusional or anything. And Evergreen is full of hippies living in yurts and anti-government types, and it is also full of bears and cougars, so there were tons of guns lying around, and yoinking one would have been trivial for someone who wanted one.

So it is unlikely that the Brady Law or mental health databases or whatever would have actually prevented that specific thing from happening, but that doesn't mean those things are useless.

[Dingfod]

Originally Posted by Dingfod

John Hinkley Jr. should be tried for murder now, right?

Hinkley might be charged with Brady's murder, the District of Columbia medical examiner ruled Brady's death a homicide.

[Iacchus]

So, why didn't they charge him for attempted murder or assault charges prior to that? . . . Or did they?

[lisarea]

They did charge him, and he was found not guilty by reason of insanity.

Here's Eugene Volokh about the possibilities of a retrial:

May the government try John Hinckley for James Brady’s murder? - The Washington Post

[ImGod]

So if I'm in a car accident and get injured, my family can push for a vehicular manslaughter charge if I die 45 years later?

Seems a little arbitrary to me if you redefine murder that way. I think most people would take the option to live 30-40 years after their homicide if given the choice.

Makes you wonder why they didn't charge him when Ronnie died.

[Janet]

I don't know what the law says, but my sixteen-year-old niece was run over by a drunk driver while she was walking across the street. She died at 22 from an overdose while trying to manage her chronic pain. As far as I'm concerned, she was killed by that drunk driver.

[Dingfod]

Originally Posted by ImGod

So if I'm in a car accident and get injured, my family can push for a vehicular manslaughter charge if I die 45 years later?

Seems a little arbitrary to me if you redefine murder that way. I think most people would take the option to live 30-40 years after their homicide if given the choice.

Makes you wonder why they didn't charge him when Ronnie died.

Maybe. Is there a statute of limitations on manslaughter? Not in all states. For example, in California they have six years to prosecute you for manslaughter. Under federal law, three years. First degree homicide, otoh, there is no statute of limitations. If you live in Kentucky, South Carolina, West Virginia, or Wyoming, you could be prosecuted for shoplifting that key fob you didn't really need but your friends dared you to take when you were 15 years old. Those states don't have any statute of limitations on criminal charges.

[1Samuel8]

Whether you are pro-gun or anti-gun, I think it behooves you all to check the connection between Hinckley and the Bushes.

Originally Posted by The Man

Yup. That is how it works.

Look at the tax changes Reagan was trying to implement before he was shot. Look at the laws that were passed after Reagan was shot. Focus on the oil industry.