Railroad Massacre Victim’s Widow Will Run for Congress

Setting up what could be a defining election on gun control, a woman whose husband was killed and whose son was seriously wounded in the 1993 massacre on the Long Island Rail Road announced Tuesday she will run for Congress against a Republican who has supported repealing the ban on assault weapons.

Carolyn McCarthy, a 52-year-old former nurse who has become a vocal gun control advocate since the railway attack, switched her registration as a Republican to run as a Democrat against Rep. Daniel Frisa for a House seat representing much of Nassau County.

“Today begins the newest phase in a journey that started for me on Dec. 7, 1993,” McCarthy said in declaring her candidacy. “On that day, my husband, Dennis, was killed on the Long Island Rail Road. And it is only by the grace of God and the prayers of this community that my son Kevin is here to stand with me today.”

She went on to say that “I want to make sure that no family has to go through what we went through. . . . As an opponent of gun violence, I know the power of special interests like the leadership of the [National Rifle Assn.]. We must end this kind of influence.”

Frisa, while conceding there is deep sympathy for the victims of the train attack, moved quickly to picture McCarthy as a one-issue candidate.

“I think the people in this district want more than a spokesperson for something,” he said.

The 46-year-old Frisa so far has raised an estimated $1 million for his reelection campaign.

McCarthy gained national attention during the trial last year of Colin Ferguson, who was sentenced to life in prison for the rampage aboard the commuter train in which six people were killed and 17 others were wounded. McCarthy emerged as the spokeswoman for the surviving victims and the relatives and friends of those Ferguson killed.

McCarthy’s son, Kevin, 28, was partially paralyzed by a gunshot wound to the head.

In the House, Frisa has aligned himself with GOP conservatives and House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

In her statement, McCarthy sought to tie her opponent to Gingrich, saying, “I know the Frisa-Gingrich agenda is terrible for the people of this community.”