The Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, also known as the Brady Bill, was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Bill Clinton on November 30, 1993.

The act was named after James Brady, who was shot by John Hinckley, Jr. during an attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan on March 30, 1981.

Provisions

The law initially required a five-day waiting period for customers purchasing firearms or handguns, and mandated a national criminal background check on purchasers buying handguns from ATF-licensed dealers. Private party sales, or sales by dealers who are not federally approved, were not affected. The provision which mandated that local law enforcement officials carry out the background checks was struck down by the Supreme Court in 1997. The waiting period provision was set to sunset in 1998. In the interval the so-called "instant-check" system, still used today (2004), was developed by the FBI.

Sarah Brady and the Brady Law

The Brady Bill was championed for over a decade by Brady's wife, Sarah Brady , who after her husband's shooting became a liberal anti-gun advocate. In 1989 she became chairman of the legislative lobby, Handgun Control, Inc. (HCI). In 1991 she became chairman of HCI's "education, research, and legal advocacy" arm, The Center to Prevent Handgun Violence. In 1993 she was a guest of honor at the signing ceremony for the bill, whose signing represented a milestone for her organizations.

The Brady Law Today

Under the Brady Law, prior to the sale of a handgun, federally-licensed firearms dealers must verify the identity of a customer and receive authorization from the background checking system's database.

External links

• The Brady Campaign website

• The Supreme Court decision