Where Reagan was shot - The Washington Hilton

On March 30, 1981, an insane man named John Hinckley Jr. tried to assassinate President Ronald Reagan right outside the Washington Hilton as Reagan walked out after giving a speech. Hinckley was obsessed with actress Jodie Foster and did it to impress her. Reagan had only been president for two months. He was hit by a ricochet that went into his chest, and he nearly died.

Hinckley's weapon was a cheap, six-shot revolver firing a low-powered bullet. He had no military or police training and was not a gun expert. In a couple seconds, he managed to shoot Reagan and three other people with just six shots.

Regan's press secretary, James Brady, was shot in the head and paralyzed. He later became perhaps the country's biggest gun control advocate, founding a major gun control organization and helping through the 1993 passage of new federal gun laws that made it harder for criminals and insane people to buy guns. American conservatives were so outraged by this law (dubbed "The Brady Bill") and by the 1993 federal Assault Weapons Ban that they mobilized and voted the democrats out of power in the House of Representatives in the 1994 elections. Ever since, the democrats have been scared to push for gun control laws.

You can see the exact location were Reagan was shot at 0:43.

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