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.