BELLEVUE, WA – The auction of an 1849 Colt Baby Dragoon revolver that once belonged to the late James Brady will help the Second Amendment Foundation battle restrictive gun laws and educate the public about the right to keep and bear arms.
A portion of the auction proceeds will be donated to SAF by the historic handgun’s current owner, Jim Copley and GunAuction.com, said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan Gottlieb. The revolver is a rare piece of history, reportedly the last one of these particular guns manufactured by Colt, with the serial number of 14152.
Brady was shot and permanently disabled in the attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan in March 1981. Brady’s wife, Sarah apparently turned this gun and some others in the house, to the family’s gardener. The cap-and-ball percussion revolver is a “rammerless” model that has passed through the hands of a few collectors. After the shooting, Sarah became a gun control activist and head of the anti-gun rights group named after her husband.
“We’re honored that Jim and GunAuction.com have decided to donate part of the auction proceeds of this particular revolver,” Gottlieb said. “I can promise that SAF will use every penny to advance the cause of winning firearms freedom, one lawsuit at a time.
“What makes this revolver unique is that it was the last of its line,” he continued, “and that it was once owned by a man whose name is synonymous with gun control. While the nation can sympathize with Mr. Brady’s personal injuries and challenges, gun control extremists exploited that terrible event to unfairly restrict the rights of millions of law-abiding citizens. We all admired President Reagan and his accomplishments, but John Hinckley committed that crime, and American gun owners have been penalized for more than 20 years.
“If the proceeds from the sale of this valuable antique helps overturn just one unconstitutional gun law supported by the Brady Center, then it will be worth it,” Gottlieb concluded.