Michael D. Barnes (born September 3, 1943 in Washington, DC) represented the eighth district of Maryland in the United States House of Representatives from 1979 to 1987 and has been the president of the Brady Campaign gun control organization since March 1, 2000. After serving in the Marine Corps (1967 to 1969), being discharged with the rank of corporal, Michael Barnes attended George Washington University and obtained a Juris Doctor degree in 1972. Barnes served in both private and government practice until his election to the House of Representatives as a Democrat in 1978.
As a member of Congress, Barnes was an outspoken critic of Ronald Reagan's Central America policy. Oliver North and Robert McFarlane were reluctant to share information with Barnes' staff during the Iran-Contra Affair because they believed one of them was relaying information to the Sandinista government.
In 1986, Barnes lost the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senator from Maryland to Barbara Mikulski and retired to private legal practice until his appointment as president of the Brady Campaign.
