Gun control crusader Sarah Brady lobbied the General Assembly last week on behalf of Governor Martin O’Malley’s proposed bill. She fondly remembers the Maryland State House as the site of the first victory she and her husband, Jim, won in what became a life-long crusade to curb access to guns. Seven years after James Brady was crippled in an assassination attempt on President Reagan, Maryland became one of the first states to ban Saturday night specials.
"Today it’s a little bit of deja vu," she said. "The same arguments…the NRA is giving the same reasons why we shouldn’t do something. But I’m pleased to be here in Maryland because it is a state that has set a standard."
Brady, now 71, came to promote O’Malley’s gun package one day before it faces its first committee votes in the state Senate. The governor has agreed to tighten access to guns by the mentally ill but the package remains controversial, and changes to the mental health piece were made during the committee hearings. The full Senate will debate the bill this week.
Brady likes the bill, however. "The licensing of handgun purchasers is very well done because it’s got teeth in it," she said.
Check out this longer interview with Sarah Brady, from WBAL:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=D8po-CJFfaQ