Grace McCarthy receiving the Presidential Citizens Medal on behalf of Carolyn McCarthy from President Joe Biden during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House on January 02, 2025 in Washington, DC. Biden gave the medal to 20 people who worked on causes supported by the president during his decades of public service, including desegregation, women’s rights, gun safety, LGBTQ+ rights, cancer research, and military affairs.
Chip Somodevilla, Getty Images
Carolyn McCarthy, the former representative for the 4th Congressional District for 18 years, was honored with the Presidential Citizens Medal at the White House on Jan. 2.
The medal is awarded to Americans who have performed exemplary deeds of service for their country or their fellow citizens, according to the White House.
McCarthy was born Jan. 5, 1944, in Brooklyn, but the former member of Congress grew up and has spent the majority of her time in Mineola. She represented the towns of Garden City, Mineola, Westbury, East Meadow and many other spots during her time in the House.
The nine-term congresswoman made her name as a national gun-control advocate. The former nurse was inspired to run for office when a crazed gunman killed her husband and permanently wounded her son in the Long Island Rail Road massacre.
On Dec. 7, 1993 Colin Ferguson, a deranged gunman, got up from his seat and came down the aisle on a crowded Long Island Rail Road train between New Hyde Park and Merillon Avenue. After he fired two clips of 15 bullets each and loaded another, three men jumped him and pinned him to the ground.
In total, four passengers died onboard and two died after sustaining fatal injuries. The wounded inclused 21 victims. After her life was turned upside down, McCarthy ran for Congress and was elected on a platform on strict gun-control legislation.
Prior to entering Congress, she worked as a licensed practical nurse. While in Congress, McCarthy was a senior member of the Committee on Education and Workforce, as well as the Financial Services Committee.
In 2007, she became the chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Healthy Families and Communities.
McCarthy had many of her acts signed into law. She was instrumental in the passage of the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act and the National Instant Criminal Background Check Database Improvement Amendments Act.
She advocated for compulsory trigger locks, a renewed assault weapons ban, closure of the gun show loophole in the background checks law and banning high-capacity ammo magazines, but they were not signed into law during her time in Congress.
“As a nurse, Carolyn McCarthy had an instinct to heal and serve. When her husband and son were shot on a local commuter train, she became an advocate so persuasive that she was recruited to run for Congress,” President Joe Biden said in a statement.
Biden added that “she served 18 years championing gun safety measures, including improved background checks, as a citizen legislator devoted to protecting our nation’s welfare.”
McCarthy left Congress in January 2014, months after disclosing she had lung cancer and was receiving chemotherapy treatments.
McCarthy’s granddaughter, Grace McCarthy, accepted the award from Biden on her grandmother’s behalf during a ceremony that also honored 19 other recipients, including former Rep. Liz Cheney and former Sen. Bill Bradley, a Basketball Hall of Famer with the New York Knicks.
McCarthy’s daughter-in-law, Leslie, and McCarthy’s brother and sister-in-law, Tom and Marita Cook, also attended the ceremony.