March 30, 1981 - President Reagan shot in Washington D.C. by John Hinckley Jr.
Along with Reagan, Secret Service agent Tim McCarthy and D.C. police officer Tom Delahanty were also severely wounded. Presidential press secretary Jim Brady was the most seriously injured though, being shot in the head just over his left eye. Brady suffered permanent brain damage causing his wife Sarah Brady to take up the cause against lawful handgun-ownership, joining Handgun Control, Inc. which became the "Brady Campaign To Prevent Gun Violence" and ultimately leading to the passage of the 1993 "Brady Bill" which required a background check of all handgun buyers - odd because Hinckley had no felony record and no public record of mental illness and if the Brady Law was in place at the time, it would not have stopped him from obtaining a gun. The gun used by Hinckley, a .22LR Rohm RG-14 revolver, was bought in Lubbock Texas in October 1980, six months before the assassination attempt. Even the seven-day "cooling-off period" for handgun purchases also mandated by the Brady Bill would not have affected Hinckley's actions.