Lock and Unload: One Survivor Urges Sanity...

While anniversaries usually are happy occasions to remember, today is one anniversary I wish I could forget. It was 20 years ago today that my life and the lives of three others were changed forever.

A mentally disturbed man shot President Reagan, a police officer, a Secret Service agent and me on a sidewalk in Washington. One bullet came within an inch of the president’s heart, nearly killing him. The nation held its breath praying for his recovery.

Another bullet hit Thomas Delahanty, a Washington police officer. Nerve damage to his left arm forced him to retire eight months later. Tim McCarthy, a Secret Service agent, was shot in the chest and suffered a lacerated liver. Fortunately, he recovered and returned to active duty.

I was not so lucky. A bullet entered the left side of my forehead and passed through the right side of my brain. The skilled doctors at George Washington Hospital and the unyielding support of family helped pull me through. But even after long and torturous physical rehabilitation, I could not resume working every day as White House press secretary, a job I loved.

Not a day goes by that I’m not reminded of the shooting. The physical pain has lessened somewhat, but it’s always there. And I still dread my sessions with the “physical terrorists” who help me with my rehabilitation. Even more difficult for me has been my loss of independence and spontaneity. The other day, I wanted to go to a pizza place for a bite to eat. By the time I was able to get help getting dressed and into my wheelchair and the wheelchair into our van, I no longer felt like going. Things that used to be so simple are so difficult now.

While we certainly won’t celebrate this anniversary, the occasion won’t be altogether sad because the shooting ultimately led my wife Sarah and me to dedicate our lives to strengthening our nation’s gun laws and making our country safe from gun violence.

I am proud to say that we have accomplished a great deal. In 1993, Congress passed the Brady law, which requires background checks to prohibit gun sales to criminals and others, including those with a history of mental illness. Since the law went into effect in February 1994, background checks have stopped more than 600,000 gun sales to prohibited purchasers. Research has shown that these background checks have saved thousands of lives.

We still have a long way to go. Since I was shot in 1981, more than 670,000 Americans have been killed by firearms. That is the equivalent of killing every man, woman and child in North Dakota. And for every person killed by a gun, at least two more, like me, are wounded.

Regrettably, the new president and some in Congress apparently believe that new laws could not help prevent these deaths. After the tragic school shooting in Santee earlier this month, what did our leaders do? The House of Representatives adopted a resolution that condemned the shooting, offered condolences and encouraged dialogue, but said nothing about children’s access to guns. A few courageous members spoke out, but most remained silent. President Bush talked about teaching children morals and values but did not mention the word “guns.” Are Bush and other leaders so beholden to the gun lobby that they can’t acknowledge what is staring them in the face? Millions of American children have too easy access to too many guns.

There are common-sense steps that can be taken to prevent these tragedies from happening again. Congress knows what to do. Over the past two years, members of both chambers debated gun violence issues, and the Senate reached bipartisan agreement on several sensible proposals. These included measures that would close the loophole that permits sales of guns with no background checks at gun shows, require child safety locks with every handgun sold and prohibit juveniles from getting assault weapons.

Why weren’t those laws enacted? The gun lobby, led by the well-financed National Rifle Assn., called its allies in Congress, took out its checkbook and killed the effort to pass even these modest and reasonable steps toward safer communities.

Poll after poll has shown that most Americans support sensible policies to help prevent gun violence. If we make our voices heard loud and clear, we can persuade Congress and the president to act to ensure our vision of an America where all can live free from gun violence--at home, at the workplace and at school.

That would mean fewer families facing anniversaries such as the one that my family faces every March 30.