DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It is one of the most enduring images in American history. President Ronald Reagan shot outside of Washington D.C. hotel. Gunman John Hinckley set out to assassinate Reagan. But Press Secretary Jim Brady took a bullet meant for the President, robbing the White House spokesman of his ability to speak the way he once did. But Brady's brain damage and paralysis did the talking for him as he and his wife Sarah became leading advocates for gun control lobbying for legislation that became known as the Brady Bill imposing waiting periods for handgun purchases and eventually establishing a system of background checks on gun buyers for the first time. Brady's Republican boss backed his efforts.</s>RONALD REAGAN, FMR. U.S. PRESIDENT: I happen to believe in the Brady Bill because we have that same thing in California right now.</s>BASH: He faced steep opposition especially from the</s>NRA. JAMES BRADY, FMR. WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY, REAGAN ADMINISTRATION: They're going to throw every road block in the way they can to derail this speeding freight train.</s>BASH: In 1993, success, the Brady Bill became law. In 2011, the 38th anniversary of being shot, Brady made an emotional return to the White House briefing room. In fact, this room was dedicated to James Brady. It was named in his honor so that the White House Press Corps and the spokespeople who work here everyday will always remember him. Remember the man Brady was before he was shot, clever banter with reporters.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He is somebody who I think who really revolutionized this job.</s>BASH: And for Brady's enduring current with his trademark thumbs up. Dana Bash, CNN, Washington.</s>COOPER: And James Brady died at the age of 73. We'll be in the region again tomorrow night. I hope you join us for that. CNN TONIGHT starts now.
Ex-Reagan Press Secretary James Brady Dies at 73