Press Secretary Turned Gun Control Spokesman James Brady Dies at 73
James Brady, who died yesterday at 73, eventually became America’s best-known gun control advocate. But he once had a relatively simpler role: press secretary for President Ronald Reagan.
For a little shot of bipartisanship on a Tuesday morning, here’s current press secretary Josh Earnest talking about how Brady revolutionized the job via The Washington Post:
Of course, even in Earnest’s recount, Brady’s later activism played a larger role in defining him than anything he did as press secretary.
Expect to see differing op-eds on that point this week.
For context, Brady suffered a gunshot to the forehead in 1981 when would-be assassin John Hinckley tried to kill the president in order — he claimed — to impress then-rising star Jodie Foster.
Reporters declared Brady dead, but he lived through years of recovery to become the nation’s most visible advocate and, essentially, top PR rep for advocacy in the gun control space.
The
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