Ex-Republican National Committee chair fact-checks Lindsey Graham's claim that guns are a deterrent

"If you do this crap in South Carolina . . . you'll be lucky if somebody doesn't shoot you"

By Bob Brigham

Published July 28, 2021 4:30AM (EDT)

U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) speaks during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on the Defense Department's budget request on Capitol Hill on June 17, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Evelyn Hockstein-Pool/Getty Images)
U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) speaks during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on the Defense Department's budget request on Capitol Hill on June 17, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Evelyn Hockstein-Pool/Getty Images)

This article originally appeared on Raw Story

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South Carolina's "castle doctrine" and "stand your ground" laws provide legal protection to shoot people in many situations.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., praised the state relying on armed citizens to self-police during a Monday evening appearance on Fox News.

"I'll tell you this, if you do this crap in South Carolina, you'll be lucky if you go to jail. You'll be lucky if somebody doesn't shoot you," he said.

"So I say that because we've lost deterrence. These big Democratic cities and states have lost deterrence," Graham claimed. "People feel no longer feel afraid to assault somebody in the streets."

Former Republican National Committee Chair Michael Steele fact-checked the GOP senator.

"Umm Senator perhaps you should speak with your state Law Enforcement Division before jawboning about South Carolina shooting people as a deterrence to violent crime: The murder rate went up around 25% in 2020; aggravated assault went up around 9% in 2020," Steele noted, citing a report from Fox Carolina.


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Guns Lindsey Graham Michael Steele Raw Story Republican National Committee Republicans Second Amendment