Longtime former Democratic New York Rep. Carolyn McCarthy died Thursday at her home in Fort Myers, Florida. She was 81. No cause of death was given, though she had been diagnosed with lung cancer in 2013.

Former New York Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, known as a prominent advocate for gun control, has died at the age of 81.

Former U.S. Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, who successfully ran for Congress in 1996 as a crusader for gun control after a mass shooting on a New York commuter train left her husband dead and her son severely wounded, has died. She was 81.