By Dave Workman
Editor-in-Chief
The weekend death of veteran Republican U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina not only sent a shockwave through official Washington, D.C., it immediately translated into a significant loss for Second Amendment advocacy in Capitol Hill.
Sen. Graham. 71, reportedly succumbed to aortic dissection, “tied to arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease, commonly known as hardening of the arteries.,” according to Fox News.
Graham came to the Senate in 2003, succeeding former Sen. Strom Thurmond. He had previously served in the U.S. House of Representatives, from 1995 to 2003, and before that, he served in the South Carolina legislature. He served in the U.S. Air Force, rising to the rank of colonel.
He earned high marks from groups including the National Rifle Association and National Shooting Sports Foundation. In 2004, Graham was one of only eight U.S. senators named to the NSSF’s inaugural “Congressional Dean’s List” recognizing members of Congress who have “gone above and beyond to protect and preserve the Second Amendment.”
According to his lengthy online biography, “Graham opposed extending background checks. He said, ‘universal background checks are going to require universal [gun] registration.’ He called current gun laws ‘broken,’ citing an example of a woman who pleaded guilty by reason of insanity to attempting to kill President George W. Bush, but was later able to pass a background check and buy a gun. To this end, in March 2013, he joined senators Jeff Flake, Mark Begich, and Mark Pryor in introducing a bill that would close a loophole by flagging people who attempt to buy guns who have used an insanity defense, were ruled dangerous by a court or had been committed by a court to mental health treatment. It did not address the gun show loophole.
“In 2022,” the Wikipedia biography continues, “Graham became one of ten Republican senators to support a bipartisan agreement on gun control, which included a red flag provision, a support for state crisis intervention orders, funding for school safety resources, stronger background checks for buyers under the age of 21, and penalties for straw purchases.”
Graham is widely recognized for having delivered a fiery admonishment to Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee when they tried to derail the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court. Graham called their conduct “despicable.” His blistering remarks are considered to have saved Kavanaugh’s nomination and carried him to Senate confirmation.
Sen. Graham also raised eyebrows when he suggested a “Second Amendment solution” to the situation in Iran, which translated to providing arms and ammunition to Iranian citizens. As recalled by Fox News, at the time Graham observed to commentator Sean Hannity, “I love the idea of a Second Amendment solution for the Iranian people. If I were President Trump and I were Israel, I would load the Iranian people up with weapons so they could go to the streets armed and turn the tide of battle inside Iran.”
In 2023, Graham introduced the Respect for the Second Amendment Act in the middle of the anti-gun Biden administration efforts to tighten down on the right to keep and bear arms. He was joined by colleagues Tom Cotton (Arkansas), Chuck Grassley (Iowa), John Kennedy (Louisiana), Josh Hawley (Missouri), Thom Tillis (North Carolina), John Cornyn and Ted Cruz (Texas), Marsha Blackburn (Tennessee) and Mike Lee (Utah).
Among the tributes pouring in was a comment from Democrat Sen. Tammy Duckworth (Ill.) who observed, “We didn’t agree on everything, but I never doubted he loved our country as much as I do. He devoted his life to serving our nation, first in uniform for over 33 years and then in the Senate where he fought for the best interests of his constituents, our servicemembers, our fellow Veterans and partners and allies around the globe. My heart is with his loved ones and the people of South Carolina during this difficult time. May he rest in peace.”
