Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence: Committed to Reducing Incidents of Gun Violence in America

Gun violence is fast becoming a problem in America. Today, on average, eight young people under the age of 20 are killed by guns on a daily basis. Also, one-third of the American population knows someone who has been shot. These numbers are alarming and are rising every year. This is why the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence has been hard at work to keep guns out of the wrong hands by pushing for legislation such as the Brady Law which requires background checks for those who would like to purchase firearms. The organization is also pushing to close down the so-called “bad apple” gun dealers. These are the 5% of gun dealers who sell around 90% of the firearms used in gun-related crimes. Another way the organization wants to lessen the number of gun related injuries and deaths is to educate the people about the danger of keeping guns at home which may lead to incidents of suicide, accidental shooting, and homicide.

The organization was named after the husband and wife team of Jim and Sarah Brady. Jim Brady was once President Reagan’s Press Secretary. He was seriously injured during an assassination attempt on the President in 1981. Since then, the Jim and Sarah have been actively participating in efforts to reduce the incidents of gun violence in the country. The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence was founded in 1974 under the name National Council to Control Handguns. In 1980, the organization changed its name to Handgun Control, Inc. A sister organization called the Center to Prevent Handgun Violence (CPHV) was founded in 1983. While Handgun Control worked to influence policy making, CPHV worked to educate people in order to reduce the incidents of gun-related violence. The change to Handgun Control’s name to the Brady Campaign happened in 2001. CPHV changed its name to the Brady Center as well.