Carolyn McCarthy, a former Democratic U.S. Rep. and gun safety advocate, died Thursday. She was 81.
McCarthy represented New York’s 4th Congressional District from 1997 to 2015. She was motivated to run for office to implement stricter gun control legislation after a December 1993 shooting at the Garden City Merillon Avenue Long Island Rail Road stop killed her husband, Dennis, and severely injured her son, Kevin.
Gun control and regulation remained her primary issue through her 18-year tenure in office. She was known as one of the fiercest gun control advocates in Congress, routinely advocating for assault rifle and high capacity magazine gun bans, speaking against the National Rifle Association and pressuring Democratic and Republican administrations to take stronger action on gun control.
Prior to running for Congress as a Democrat, McCarthy was a registered Republican. However, she ran against then-incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Dan Frisa, who held the seat before her, because he advocated against and voted to repeal the federal Assault Weapons Ban.
U.S. Rep. Laura Gillen, the Democrat who represents the district McCarthy did, released a statement expressing her condolences.
“I was sad to learn of the passing of Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy, a tireless advocate for Long Island,” Gillen said in a statement. “After a tragic shooting killed her husband and injured her son on the Long Island Railroad, Carolyn turned her pain into action, running for Congress and advocating for commonsense gun reform, including comprehensive background checks.”
“We must honor her legacy by continuing her life’s work to keep our communities and our children safe from the scourge of gun violence,” Gillen continued. My family and New York’s Fourth Congressional District join the nation in mourning Carolyn’s passing, and our prayers are with her family and all those who knew and loved her.”
McCarthy was born in Brooklyn and raised in Mineola, where she lived much of her adult life. She worked as a nurse before representing Nassau County in Congress.
While in Congress, she served on the Committee of Education and the Workforce and the Committee on Financial Services and on the Congressional Hearing Health Caucus, Congressional Glaucoma Caucus, Financial Literacy Caucus, International Conservation Caucus, U.S.-Israel Security Caucus and Women’s Caucus. She voted with the Democratic Party on nearly every vote she took.
After learning of McCarthy’s death, U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer expressed his appreciation for the time he spent working with McCarthy on gun safety, health care, education, and transportation while the two jointly represented New York, him in the Senate and her in the House of Representatives.
“Carolyn McCarthy was one of New York’s very best. She turned her own personal tragedy into lasting public service, becoming one of the most determined and effective voices for gun safety,” Schumer said in a statement. “Her work helped shape federal policy on assault weapons and gun locks, all of it driven by her deep compassion for others and rooted in her years as a nurse.”
“Her legacy is a powerful reminder that courage, integrity and commitment can lead to real change,” Schumer added.
State Assembly Member Michaelle Solages, who represents Valley Stream, commended McCarthy on turning the pain of gun violence into change, adding that she fought for that change not with anger, but with compassion and resolve.
“Her advocacy was deeply personal, and because of that, deeply impactful,” Solages said in a statement. “She became one of the strongest voices in the nation for common-sense gun safety, long before it was politically popular. She showed the country what leadership rooted in lived experience truly looks like.”
State Assembly Member Charles Lavine, who represents the North Shore, called McCarthy one of the best people he had ever worked with while speaking to the impact her advocacy in the wake of personal tragedy had on the country’s gun policy.
“Thanks to her tireless efforts in Congress, countless lives have been saved,” Levine said. “It is with thoughts of her and so many other family members of gun violence victims that I continue the fight to keep our communities safe through strong but sensible gun legislation.”
Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman also spoke to the significance of McCarthy’s work on Long Island upon learning of her death on Thursday.
“Sad to hear of the passing of Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy,” Blakeman said. “Carolyn was a true leader and a very decent person. She will be sorely missed.”
He said he has instructed the county’s Department of Public Works to find a suitable location to name a street in her honor.
Per Blakeman’s request, flags will be flown at half-staff until her burial.
