1974

• The National Council to Control Handguns (NCCH) is established by Dr. Mark Borinsky, a victim of gun violence.

1975

• After the murder of his son, DuPont executive Nelson "Pete" Shields takes a leave of absence from his job to work for NCCH, eventually retiring from DuPont to work for NCCH full-time.

1978

• Pete Shields becomes Chair of NCCH.

1980

• The National Council to Control Handguns is renamed Handgun Control, Inc. (HCI).

1981

• March 30: Jim Brady, press secretary to President Ronald Reagan, is shot and seriously wounded during an assassination attempt on the President.

1983

• The Center to Prevent Handgun Violence (CPHV), an educational outreach organization dedicated to reducing gun violence, is founded as a sister organization to HCI.

1985

• Sarah Brady, Jim Brady's wife, joins the fight for sensible gun control laws.

1986

• HCI successfully lobbies Congress to ban armor-piercing, "cop-killer" bullets that can puncture bullet-proof vests worn by police officers.

1988

• Maryland becomes the first state in the nation to ban the sale of Saturday Night Specials.

• With HCI's support, Congress passes a bill to ban handguns that cannot be detected by airport x-ray machines ("plastic" handguns).

1989

• CPHV establishes the Legal Action Project to take the fight against gun violence into the courts.

• After a schoolyard massacre in Stockton, California passes the first assault weapons ban in the nation, the Roberti-Roos Assault Weapon Act.

• Florida adopts the nation's first "Child Access Prevention" law, which requires adults to store guns so that they are inaccessible to children or use a device to lock the gun.

• Pete Shields retires as Chair of HCI; Sarah Brady becomes Chair.

1991

• Sarah Brady becomes Chair of the Center to Prevent Handgun Violence.

1992

• CPHV launches Straight Talk About Risks (STAR), a gun violence prevention program for children, pre-school through high school, and their families.

1993

• Virginia passes legislation limiting purchases of guns to "one per person per month," in response to increasing evidence that Virginia is a source state of crime guns trafficked up and down the East Coast.

• The Brady Bill, which requires a five-day waiting period and background checks on handgun purchases, is signed into law after a seven-year battle.

1994

• The Brady Law goes into effect in the 32 states which have no background check system.

• President Clinton signs into law the Violent Crime and Control Act of 1994, which includes the first-ever federal Assault Weapons Ban, banning the future manufacture and importation of military-style assault weapons.

• The federal Assault Weapons Ban goes into effect.

• CPHV and the American Academy of Pediatrics launch Steps To Prevent (STOP) Firearm Injury to train doctors to counsel patients and their families about the risks of guns in the home.

1995

• In the wake of the Oklahoma City bombing, the National Rifle Association (NRA) faces intense public scrutiny and widespread criticism for its extremist views against law enforcement. NRA membership drops and President Bush resigns his life membership after it is revealed that the NRA called Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) agents "jack-booted thugs" in a fundraising letter.

1996

• Congress passes legislation to prohibit anyone convicted of a misdemeanor domestic violence offense from buying or owning a gun.

• CPHV launches Project Lifeline, a national network of health professionals committed to public education on gun violence prevention.

1997

• The Centers for Disease Control release a report showing that the firearms death rate of children in the United States is 12 times higher than the firearms death rate of children in 25 other industrialized countries combined.

• Although the Supreme Court strikes down the background check requirement of the Brady Law, the waiting period and other provisions of Brady survive an NRA-financed challenge. Law enforcement continues to conduct background checks voluntarily until the National Instant Check System goes into effect in 1998.

1998

• CPHV releases On the Front Line, the first comprehensive survey of gun interdiction programs used by law enforcement agencies across the country. The report is designed to be a guide for police departments to assist them with their gun interdiction efforts.

• April: President Clinton expands the federal Assault Weapons Ban to include "copycat" imports.

• Connecticut passes a package of gun control measures to close loopholes in the state's gun laws and enable law enforcement to solve gun crimes.

• Steps to Prevent Firearm Injury in the Home 2 (STOP 2) is launched. STOP 2 broadens the scope of the original STOP program to reach more diverse communities and health care providers in all fields.

• Massachusetts enacts measures to strengthen the state's gun laws, including requiring child safety locks with every new gun sold, a Child Access Prevention law, a ban on junk guns, and requiring safety training for gun purchasers.

• With the assistance of CPHV's Legal Action Project, New Orleans becomes the first public entity to sue the gun industry.

• The people of Florida vote overwhelmingly to allow cities and counties to regulate private sales at gun shows; 11 out of 12 "Dangerous Dozen" candidates who oppose gun control are defeated at the polls.

• The Brady waiting period expires and the National Instant Check System goes into effect. Background checks are extended to long guns such as rifles and shotguns.

1999

• In the first-ever statewide referendum on the subject, the voters of Missouri reject an NRA-sponsored proposal that would allow people to carry hidden handguns.

• In the wake of the Columbine High School massacre in Colorado, the U.S. Senate passes legislation to close the gun show loophole. Unfortunately, similar legislation in the House is defeated and the Senate bill stalls in conference committee.

• In Merrill v. Navegar, CPHV's Legal Action Project achieves the first appeals court ruling that a gun manufacturer can be held liable for negligence leading to the criminal use of a gun.

• The U.S. Supreme Court rejects a gun industry challenge to the federal Assault Weapons Ban.

• California passes the strongest package of gun control bills ever enacted by a state in one year. Measures include consumer product safety standards for all handguns manufactured or sold in the state, requiring state-approved child-safety locks with all guns sold, strengthening the state's ban on assault weapons and limiting handgun purchases to one per person per month.

2000

• The District of Columbia becomes the 30th jurisdiction to sue the gun industry.

• The White House Press Briefing Room is named in Jim Brady's honor.

• Smith and Wesson becomes the first gun manufacturer to settle with cities and counties suing the gun industry, agreeing to make sweeping changes to its manufacturing and distribution practices.

• After two years of court battles, the Attorney General of Massachusetts becomes the first in the nation to use consumer protection powers to regulate guns.

• HCI releases a new television ad featuring video footage of a senior NRA official boasting that, if George W. Bush is elected President, the NRA will be working out of the White House.

• The Million Mom March takes place on Mother's Day. Hundreds of thousands of moms and other supporters gather in Washington, D.C. and in cities around the nation to call on lawmakers to enact stricter gun laws.

• New York City becomes the 32nd city or county to sue the gun industry. CPHV's Legal Action Project now represents 26 of the 32 jurisdictions.

• Two traditionally pro-gun Western states, Colorado and Oregon, overwhelmingly pass statewide referenda to close the gun show loophole. Handgun Control and the Handgun Control Voter Education Fund spend a record $5 million to help defeat 9 of the 12 "Dangerous Dozen" candidates who oppose reasonable gun laws.

• The states of Maryland and New York pass gun control packages, strengthening each state's gun laws.

2001

• The U.S. Supreme Court rejects a gun industry challenge to California's assault weapons ban.

• CPHV launches a new nationwide initiative to encourage attorneys general and other state officials to follow Massachusetts' example and use their consumer protection authority to regulate gun design.

• 20th anniversary of the assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan and shooting of Jim Brady.

• In honor of Jim and Sarah Brady and their commitment to make America safer from gun violence, Handgun Control is renamed the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and the Center to Prevent Handgun Violence is renamed the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence.

• The Brady Campaign and the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence merge with the Million Mom March. The alliance is a "win-win" opportunity for two strong groups that share the common goals of educating the public about gun violence and mobilizing support for sensible gun laws.

• On the eighth anniversary of the signing of the Brady Law, the Brady Campaign announces that since the law went into effect, gun deaths in the United States have dropped a remarkable 27 percent, from 39,595 in 1993 to 28,874 in 1999. A significant reason is the Brady Law, which has saved thousands of lives by requiring background checks that have prevented violent criminals from buying guns.

2002

• H&R Block, the nation's largest tax preparation firm, severed a controversial marketing agreement it had entered into with the National Rifle Association (NRA). H&R Block's withdrawal from the program came as a result of widespread protests spearheaded by the Alliance for Justice's Gun Industry Watch, and was supported by the Million Mom March, the Brady Campaign and the Mid-Atlantic Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence.

• The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence hails the passage of the "Campaign Finance Reform Bill." The bill restricts campaign contributions known as "soft money" given to national political parties, and prohibits special interest groups from attacking candidates in so-called "issue ads" within 60 days of a general election.

• Sarah Brady's autobiography, A Good Fight, is published.

• The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, the Million Mom March and the Alliance for Justice host a screening of Bowling for Columbine, a documentary by filmmaker Michael Moore. Bowling for Columbine examines fear, violence, and the gun culture in America.

2003

• The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence announces that its Legal Action Project has filed a civil lawsuit on behalf of the families of several victims of the D.C.-area sniper against the gun dealer and manufacturer who made it possible for the snipers to terrorize the Washington, D.C. region in the fall of 2002.

• Robert A. Ricker, former Executive Director and Director of Government Affairs of the American Shooting Sports Council ("ASSC"), a major gun industry trade association, and former Assistant General Counsel for the National Rifle Association ("NRA"), issues a declaration that provides a unique insider's perspective on the irresponsible actions inside the industry that lead to the illegal trade in firearms.

• The California Assembly approves far-reaching gun control legislation, sponsored by the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and the Million Mom March, that would require handgun manufacturers to redesign new handguns to prevent accidental shootings, effectively establishing a new national safety standard for handgun production.

• The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence takes out full-page advertisements the New York Times criticizing a National Rifle Association-backed bill that would strip gun violence victims of their right to sue reckless gun dealers and manufacturers.

2004

• The Brady Campaign helps defeat the NRA's top legislative priority, as the Senate votes 90 to 8 against a bill that would have provided immunity from lawsuits for the gun industry.

• The Brady Campaign launches a campaign to renew the assault weapons ban. Activists wave farewell to a 26-foot pink recreational vehicle that will travel the nation and stop in dozens of cities, starting with a visit to the site of the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia. The tour covers at least 20 states and includes stops at both the Democratic and Republican national conventions.

• President Bush and Congress allow the federal assault weapons ban to expire on September 13, despite a majority of Americans' support for the ban.

• The Brady Campaign exposes the fact that after allowing the assault weapons ban to lapse, Bush collects his payment: the National Rifle Association's endorses his candidacy exactly a month after he broke his 2000 campaign promise to renew the ban.

• The Brady Center achieves historic victories in three lawsuits brought by victims of gun violence. The settlements yield a record $4.4 million in payments by three gun dealers and gun make Bushmaster Firearms.

2005

• In response to the Brady Center's successes in winning a series of highly significant legal victories for gun violence victims, the NRA-beholden Congress passes the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (CAA), which we had blocked in 2004. The CAA is the gun lobby's attempt to stop our winning litigation efforts and give gun makers and sellers a free ride in our court system.

• Brady Center launches Gun Industry Watch to systematically expose the movement of guns from gun dealers into the hands of criminals and the complicity of the gun industry in supplying the illegal gun market.

• Brady Campaign and Illinois allies pass background checks at gun shows to help prevent illegal gun trafficking.

• God Not Guns coalition is launched with a generous grant to the Brady Center to bring together the passionate and powerful voices of the faith community to reduce gun violence.

2006

• On the 25th anniversary of the assassination attempt on President Reagan and the shooting of Presidential Press Secretary Jim Brady, the Brady Campaign launches the Campaign Against Illegal Guns, a landmark multi-year effort to stop the trafficking of guns from licensed gun dealers into the hands of criminals.

• The Board of Trustees of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and the Brady Center name Paul Helmke, the former three-term Mayor of Fort Wayne, Indiana, to lead the organization as President. Former Maryland Congressman Michael D. Barnes is named President Emeritus.

• The Brady Center's Gun Industry Watch produces eight hard-hitting reports showing the gun industry's complicity in the illegal flow of guns to criminals.

• In four US Senate races and five Governors' races, the Brady Campaign took on NRA-backed candidates and our candidates won in all nine races. Overall, 96% of Brady Campaign-endorsed candidates won.

• In memory of their beloved son, Charles and Mary Leigh Blek establish the Matthew Blek Memorial Endowment at the Brady Campaign to support scholarships for grassroots activists to be trained in gun violence prevention advocacy.

2007

• April 16: Thirty-two people are killed, and several more injured at Virginia Tech, in the deadliest school shooting in the history of the United States.

• The National Instant Check System (NICS) Improvement Act is passed that that will help prevent tragedies like Virginia Tech. The Act will give states incentives to provide records to the Brady background check system of dangerous people who are already prohibited from buying guns.

• California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signs the Crime Gun Identification Act of 2007 (AB 1471) into law. This new, first-of-its-kind law enforcement investigative tool allows police to solve more gun crimes and apprehend more armed criminals and gang members.

• The U.S. Supreme announces it will consider D.C. v. Heller this term. By agreeing to hear the appeal by the District of Columbia in the Parker/Heller case, the U.S. Supreme Court has the chance to reverse a clearly erroneous decision and make it clear that the Constitution does not prevent communities from having the gun laws they believe are needed to protect public safety.

1. about kids and guns
2. about linking with victims
3. about faith in action to end gun violence
4. on gun violence prevention

1. about gun industry reform
2. for law enforcement officials
3. to register to vote