Carolyn Mccarthy

Carolyn McCarthy had been anguishing for weeks over whether to challenge a Republican congressman here in the heart of the most effective GOP machine in the country when an offer came for her to meet with President Clinton. The president, she was told, wanted to persuade her to get into the race. But McCarthy, a Long Island homemaker whose life was warped by tragedy, politely declined the invitation to the White House. She needed to make up her own mind.

Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-N.Y.) came to politics in the worst possible way: through murder. In December 1993, a deranged man, who had easily acquired a semiautomatic pistol, began shooting at random on a Long Island commuter train, killing six people, including McCarthy's husband, Dennis, and seriously injuring her only child, Kevin.

A year before Carolyn McCarthy was sworn in as a member of Congress, she sat in the gallery overlooking the floor "and yelled down at those who were voting against the assault-weapons ban," she recalls. And a year later: "I walked in, I looked up to the balcony and said, 'My God! Here I am.' It was a scary feeling, but it was a good feeling."

NBC's Sunday movie, "The Long Island Incident," chronicles the inspiring, courageous story of Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-N.Y.). "I've watched it three times," the congresswoman says. "The first time I cried, mainly because every scene would bring back 100 points of pain." The Long Island housewife and mother's safe, happy life turned upside down on Dec. 7, 1993.

Setting up what could be a defining election on gun control, a woman whose husband was killed and whose son was seriously wounded in the 1993 massacre on the Long Island Rail Road announced Tuesday she will run for Congress against a Republican who has supported repealing the ban on assault weapons. Carolyn McCarthy, a 52-year-old former nurse who has become a vocal gun control advocate since the railway attack, switched her registration as a Republican to run as a Democrat against Rep.

NBC's Sunday movie, "The Long Island Incident," chronicles the inspiring, courageous story of Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-N.Y.). "I've watched it three times," the congresswoman says. "The first time I cried, mainly because every scene would bring back 100 points of pain." The Long Island housewife and mother's safe, happy life turned upside down on Dec. 7, 1993.

Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-N.Y.) came to politics in the worst possible way: through murder. In December 1993, a deranged man, who had easily acquired a semiautomatic pistol, began shooting at random on a Long Island commuter train, killing six people, including McCarthy's husband, Dennis, and seriously injuring her only child, Kevin.

WASHINGTON - In May 1999, one month after the mass shooting at Columbine High School in Colorado, Senate Democrats triumphantly declared that the politics of gun control had changed. An amendment to require background checks on all buyers at gun shows had just cleared the Senate in dramatic fashion: Vice President Al Gore cast the tie-breaking vote. "It will never be the same again," said Sen. Charles E. Schumer of New York. "The vise lock that the NRA has had on the Senate and the House is broken.

Re "Legislature OKs Tough Controls on Assault Weapons," July 13: Every time some criminal breaks the law all of us law-abiding gun owners pay the price. Now my 60-year-old semiautomatic historic firearm is classified as an illegal assault weapon and makes me a criminal if I don't pay another fee to re-register it. I am not a criminal but a family man and a professional businessman who is only exercising my 2nd Amendment right to legally own a firearm for sport and family protection.

Washington -- More than 20 House Democrats are planning to bring people affected by gun violence to President Obama's State of the Union address next week as part of an effort to press for new gun control measures in Congress. Each member of Congress may bring one guest to the State of the Union address, which Obama will deliver Tuesday beginning at 9 p.m. EST. As of Friday afternoon, at least 23 House Democrats had committed to bringing people affected by gun violence, according to Jonathon Dworkin, communications director for  Rep.

A year before Carolyn McCarthy was sworn in as a member of Congress, she sat in the gallery overlooking the floor "and yelled down at those who were voting against the assault-weapons ban," she recalls. And a year later: "I walked in, I looked up to the balcony and said, 'My God! Here I am.' It was a scary feeling, but it was a good feeling."

Carolyn McCarthy had been anguishing for weeks over whether to challenge a Republican congressman here in the heart of the most effective GOP machine in the country when an offer came for her to meet with President Clinton. The president, she was told, wanted to persuade her to get into the race. But McCarthy, a Long Island homemaker whose life was warped by tragedy, politely declined the invitation to the White House. She needed to make up her own mind.

Setting up what could be a defining election on gun control, a woman whose husband was killed and whose son was seriously wounded in the 1993 massacre on the Long Island Rail Road announced Tuesday she will run for Congress against a Republican who has supported repealing the ban on assault weapons. Carolyn McCarthy, a 52-year-old former nurse who has become a vocal gun control advocate since the railway attack, switched her registration as a Republican to run as a Democrat against Rep.

Colin Ferguson was sentenced to life in prison Wednesday for killing six people on a commuter train. The sentence brought cheers from survivors who had endured cross-examination by the gunman as he acted as his own attorney. Judge Donald Belfi handed Ferguson the maximum on the murder charges--six consecutive sentences of 25 years to life. The judge also ordered Ferguson to serve 50 years, the maximum, for 19 counts of attempted murder, two weapon charges and reckless endangerment.

In a surprising alignment of onetime rivals, one of the National Rifle Assn.'s most stalwart backers in Congress has teamed up with one of its biggest opponents to try to make it tougher for felons and other banned gun owners to purchase firearms. The measure would provide states with more than $1.1 billion over the next three years to upgrade records that help ensure compliance with gun purchasing laws.