Reagan’s Survival and Changing History

Is history changed in an instant? Does history take years to change? Is it frustrating and scary to change history? Yes.

On March 30th, 1981, I came home from school and turned on the TV. Instead of my favorite reruns, the news was on. A man named John Hinckley, Jr. shot President Ronald Reagan outside a hotel in Washington DC as he was leaving a meeting with the AFL/CIO.

Press Secretary James Brady, Secret Service Agent Timothy McCarthy, and police officer Thomas Delahanty were also wounded during the shooting.

Everything was coming into the news fast. The fact that the President had been shot was confirmed. It was not immediately known that he was hit. The bullet that struck the President had ricocheted into the limo as secret service hurried him in and covered him. It was only when he started coughing blood that they realized he may have been shot or just had a rib broken.

As I watched the news in horror, no one knew how seriously anyone had been injured. We also did not know that the man who shot them all was trying to impress actor Jodie Foster. No one yet knew he used a .22 revolver that had special “devastator” bullets that had small explosive elements in the hollow points.

In an instant, history changed.

President Reagan was closer to death than the nation knew at the time. But after over 105 minutes in surgery, he survived and would make a complete recovery.

Police Officer Thomas Delaney made a complete recovery after a bullet was removed from his neck.

Secret Service Agent Timothy McCarthy also recovered from his wounds.

Press Secretary James Brady died on August 4th, 2014. Even though this was 33 years after he was shot, the medical examiner would rule his death a homicide from the events of 1981. He never recovered from his wounds.

Before James Brady died from his wounds, he and his wife fought tirelessly to get gun legislation restricting certain individuals from obtaining firearms as well as mandatory waiting periods and background checks.

They were persistent and bi partisan. They did not give up. The battle to make this bill a law lasted over 7 years and 3 different presidents. On November 30, 1993, President Bill Clinton signed the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act.

Brady Background Checks would now be required on all handgun purchases from federally licensed firearm dealers. Since its enactment in 1994, the Brady Background Check System has blocked approximately 4 million prohibited purchasers from obtaining a firearm.

This did not happen without some help from what was an unexpected source. Former President Reagan.

In 1991 Reagan wrote an Op/Ed to the New York Times stating why he supported the Brady Bill. In it, the former President wrote the following:

“Every year, an average of 9,200 Americans are murdered by handguns, according to Department of Justice statistics. This does not include suicides or the tens of thousands of robberies, rapes, and assaults committed with handguns. This level of violence must be stopped.”

“Lives were changed forever and all by a Saturday-night special — a cheaply made .22 caliber pistol — purchased in a Dallas pawnshop by a young man with a history of mental disturbance. This nightmare might never have happened if legislation that is before Congress now — the Brady bill — had been law back in 1981.”

Former President Reagan would also team up with former Presidents Ford and Carter to issue joint statements in support of the Brady Bill to become law.

In years, history changed.

Though the Brady Legislation has stopped millions from purchasing guns, there is still an epidemic of gun violence in the US.

According to the CDC statistics over 327 people are shot every day. 23 of those are children. That is almost 8,000 children a year. This is the entire student body of over 15 average sized schools in the United States.

Some who study this issue feel we have some things that need to happen for there to be more change.

We need to first protect democracy by preserving the integrity of representation and elections. There also needs to be the ability to stop corporate special interest groups from owning politicians like they were sports stadiums or race cars. Filibuster rules and other stonewalling efforts need to be addressed.

The Brady legislation now has loopholes in it. In some states the loopholes make the laws as useful as a screen door on submarine. Meanwhile, American children are dying from high velocity lead poisoning because of it.

There are different forms of gun violence in America. There is no singular solution. Each form of gun violence will have different root causes and affect different communities.

Guns in suicide and domestic violence cannot be treated the same way we treat mass shootings, gang violence, and family friendly fire. If we are to treat it as an epidemic, we will understand that different viral strains will affect the body of the nation differently and need to be treated differently.

These insights and more are covered by Brady United. James Brady and his wife did not stop after one bill became a law. They kept working. And though they are both no longer with us, the work still continues.

There is more history to change.

Even in this dystopian time of misinformation, the data on how our elected representatives have voted on and position themselves regarding gun control, women’s rights, and a great many other issues is easily accessible. It just takes a few moments. Writing a letter or making a phone call to an elected representative takes only a few more moments.

I have read the memes about how busy so many people are. But do you remember the 8,000 kids a year? Over 2,000 of them die. The rest have to live with a point of trauma for the rest of their lives. Just witnessing gun violence fucked me up and I was a full grown adult. Imagine what that does to a child? Imagine what it is to lose a kid?

Many parents and loved ones who lose a child to gun violence become tireless advocates like Jim Brady. Republicans as staunch as Reagan can be swayed to reconsider positions after experiencing something.

And do you know what helps tip the scales? Us!

In just 20 minutes at Brady United at https://www.bradyunited.org/ I was able to send letters to my elected representatives, learned about some youth programs I can talk to my local school district about, and found resources I can share that could make a bigger difference than memes. If I am unable to do these things but like t shirts or tax deductions, there are also ways to give.

We can change history.

In 1988 I read a column by personal hero and columnist Mike Royko. In it, he said he was done writing about gun control because it is impossible to fight the NRA and things are just going to get worse. There came a point when I was writing for Patheos and AQ News that I got it. I felt Royko’s level of helplessness, despair, and frustration. I followed suit.

Gun violence is unrelenting, merciless, and the cycle that we go through in the wake of yet another tragedy is beyond infuriating. It feels hopeless. And maybe it is. Maybe the planet is burning and we have hit the point of no return in climate change. Unfettered AI could be the end of humanity. With the unrest in Gaza and the Ukraine we could be one crazed nuclear capable fucker away from global thermal nuclear war and we will have to run around in a post nuclear desert in muscle cars fighting each other for gas. But today I still live in the United States and not Gilead. Today I am still alive. There is an opportunity to participate in the system and change history.

I need to break my promise not to talk about dead kids anymore. The bastards haven’t stopped killing children.

Thoughts and prayers will not end this. Memes will not end this. But joining together with groups that have a proven history and a plan and not being silent has a chance. It might take a few presidential administrations for a bill to become a law.

I’m tired. It feels helpless. My elected representatives continue to fail to protect our kids. I am frustrated with inaction by my neighbors. I am jaded. But there is one thing I do not want. I do not want to get my second wind in this fight by losing a child to gun violence. I also don’t want that to be the catalyst that gets you off your ass.

I’m scared of the future. I need to change history.

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