In mourning the passing of former First Lady Nancy Reagan, Sen. Charles E. Schumer highlighted her support for landmark gun control legislation.  

The New York Democrat weighed in on the former first lady’s death even before many Republicans, pointing to her advocacy for the measure named for James Brady, the assistant to the president and press secretary under President Ronald Reagan who was paralyzed after taking a bullet during the 1981 assassination attempt on the president.  

“You didn’t have to be a Reagan Republican to admire and respect Nancy Reagan. She was a tower of strength alongside her husband, had strong beliefs, and was not afraid to chart her own course politically,” Schumer said in a statement. “She persuaded her husband to support the Brady Law, and their advocacy was instrumental in helping us pass it.”  

Schumer was the lead sponsor in the House of Representatives of the legislation that required federal background checks on people purchasing firearms. The bill ultimately became law in 1993, under President Bill Clinton.

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