Sen. Graham pushes for Senate hearing on rising crime rates

U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) is calling on the Senate Judiciary Committee to hold a hearing on the rise in violent crime across the country.

In a letter to Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin (D-IL), Graham and all of the Republican members of the Judiciary Committee linked the rise in violent crime to Democrats and social justice policies.

“As you know, reducing violent crime is a topic about which many members of the committee are deeply passionate,” wrote the senators. “Beginning in the summer of 2020, the country has experienced a sustained and unprecedented 30% increase in murders. This spike has correlated with a move toward depolicing, after the eruption of over 500 riots nationally.”

The partisan letter said the rise in crime was also due to President Joe Biden’s focus on limiting gun ownership.

“In June of 2021, the Biden Administration unveiled its own strategy to reduce violent crime,” wrote the senators. “We were troubled to see how much of the President’s strategy focuses on lawful gun acquisition and lawful gun owners. For example, one of the tenets of the President’s plan is finding ways to sue legal gun manufacturers, an initiative that would do much to interfere with Americans’ access to guns but nothing to target murders or reduce crime…Legally owned firearms play an important role in allowing Americans to protect themselves during a violent crime surge. A 2013 CDC-commissioned study found that as many as millions of people a year defend themselves with a firearm.”

The Republicans asked Durbin to hold a hearing to look at progressive policies and the increase in violent crime in cities across the country.

“We, therefore, request that you hold a full committee hearing in Washington, D.C. on the spike in murders and the challenges that law enforcement is facing. Ineffective bail policies, cumbersome restraints on police officers, and the impact of the “progressive prosecutor” movement are exacerbating this surge,” the senators wrote.