“I come before you today as not just another pretty face, but out of sheer talent.” So said James Brady during his early days as the press secretary for Ronald Reagan. The life-course of James Brady (and, to some extent, American politics) shifted dramatically a couple months later when he was shot in the head during an assassination attempt on the President. The shooting left him partially paralyzed. From his wheelchair, he became a central figure in the nation’s gun control debate. James Brady died today at the age of 73.