The comments marked the start of the annual congressional debate over gun control, an issue expected to be particularly contested this year because of a nationwide surge in gun-related violence. Schumer and other allies said at a news conference that the increase in gun-related slayings had produced a groundswell of public support for the seven-day waiting period that would be mandated by the "Brady bill," named for former White House press secretary James S. Brady, who was seriously wounded during a 1981 assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan.