Twenty-seven years ago, yesterday, on March 30, 1981, a mentally disturbed gunman attempted to assassinate President Ronald Reagan. In the process the shooter wounded a Secret Serviceman, a Washington, DC police officer, and the President’s press secretary, James S. Brady.As we remember that horrific day – and Jim and Sarah Brady – we should also resolve to do what we can to prevent gun violence in America.President Reagan believed we could do something, and he wrote about it when he recalled that fateful day:

“[F]our lives were changed forever, and all by a Saturday-night special — a cheaply made .22 caliber pistol — purchased in a Dallas pawnshop by a young man with a history of mental disturbance. This nightmare might never have happened if legislation that is before Congress now — the Brady bill — had been law back in 1981.�

The Brady Law has prevented at least 1.5 million prohibited gun purchases so far, but we have a long way to go to keep thousands of other American families from having to mark their own solemn anniversaries every year as victims of preventable gun violence.(Note to readers: This entry, along with past entries, has been co-posted on bradycampaign.org/blog and the Huffington Post.)