Republicans joined forces with the NRA and used the recently passed gun control measures to motivate voters in the 1994 midterm elections . In 1993 , with Democrats in the majority of both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives , President Bill Clinton signed the Brady Bill , named after the press secretary who was shot and paralyzed during the 1981 assassination attempt of President Reagan . The Brady Bill created a mechanism for background checks in order to enforce the GCA of 1968 and prevent criminals and minors from purchasing guns . In addition , the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 included a 10-year ban on the sale of assault weapons . In 1994 , the ban was favored by 78 % of Americans according to a CBS poll
assassination attempt of President Reagan
Attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan
National Rifle Association