Paralyzed by a gunshot wound during the 1981 assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan, former presidential press secretary James S. Brady has died at age 73. Family members announced the death on Aug. 4. The cause of death has not been announced.

Brady became a tireless advocate for gun control following his injury. What is known as the Brady Law as passed in 1993 called for mandatory background checks on people seeking to buy handguns from federally authorized gun sellers.

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Brady was a top GOP official well-known by Washington reporters. A veteran Republican worker, he was known for his  quick wit and friendly demeanor while serving as Reagan's first press secretary.

Big and burly, Brady was called "The Bear." He was fortunate to survive the assassination attempt 69 days into Reagan's first term although he was paralyzed in the shooting committed by John W. Hinckley Jr, a young man who did the crime hoping to get the attention of actress Jodie Foster.

During the assassination attempt, Hinckley fired six bullets from a handgun he purchased at a Dallas pawn shop for less than USD$30. Brady was hit before Reagan and shot in the left temple. Doctors initially believed Brady wouldn't survive the injury.

Appearing in public and testifying before Congress with his wife Susan, Brady became a key advocate for gun control. The Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act was introduced in Congress in 1987. It was passed into law six years later.

Brady was born Aug. 29, 1940 to a father who was a railroad yardmaster and mother who was a social worker at Centralia, Ill. He was an athlete at the University of Illinois, later working for Sen. Everett M. Dirksen (R-Ill.) and a string of GOP leaders. He was a housing and urban development assistant during the Nixon and Ford administrations before joining the Reagan campaign in 1980.

President Bill Clinton awarded Brady the nation's top civilian award, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, in 1996. The White House briefing room was renamed the Brady Room in 2000.

Tagsgun control, james brady, reagan assisnation, hinckley, America gun violence, jodie foster