A top Republican senator has prompted ridicule after suggesting that he would fight off criminal gangs with his AR-15 in the event of a natural disaster that somehow leads to the collapse of public order.
Lindsey Graham, senator for South Carolina, made the bizarre claim in an interview on Fox News about gun control, in light of a series of deadly mass shootings in recent weeks.
“I own an AR-15,” he told the news channel’s Chris Wallace.
“If there’s a natural disaster in South Carolina where the cops can’t protect my neighborhood, my house will be the last one that the gang will come to, because I can defend myself.”
Graham, who supports some gun control measures such as “red flag” laws, has opposed plans for a ban on assault weapons in the US.
Critics of the senator on social media quickly pointed out that his dystopian fantasy of gangs marauding through the streets of South Carolina was just that - a fantasy.
In fact, natural disasters have occurred quite often in the US in recent years and not led to a terrifying breakdown of society…
@atrupar I lived through a natural disaster in SC. It was called Hurricane Hugo. For 10 days there was no electrici… https://t.co/9HAie3nvi7— Tim (@Tim) 1616942288
@atrupar Funny - my thought would be that if there were a natural disaster, my neighbors would be pulling together… https://t.co/MPSRGtinFW— Rabbi Jill Zimmerman (@Rabbi Jill Zimmerman) 1616946781
@atrupar South Carolina after a tornado, per its elected representative: https://t.co/8ypZaRcXG6— Pé (@Pé) 1616944625
And others noted how Graham was essentially suggesting that in the event of a disaster in his state, he (an elected representative) would be holed up in his house waiting for chaos to ensure.
Wait, so if there’s a natural disaster, you, as a US Senator, would ignore the needs of your people to hide in your… https://t.co/XuLDhCXNGC— VoteVets (@VoteVets) 1616975121
Graham is a US Senator, a purported leader in and representative of his state, and yet his fantasy world conception… https://t.co/rvr5zcntbD— southpaw (@southpaw) 1616956993
As well as not being backed up by evidence, the senator’s view of his own state is also just an incredibly sad way to think about the world…
I will never understand how anyone can view this as anything but wincingly pathetic. These sad old white men, barri… https://t.co/wMhTd0zfcx— David Roberts (@David Roberts) 1616956554
In the end, this is why we stand by helplessly as innocents are slaughtered again and again by military weaponry in… https://t.co/I0ynjeCfWE— James Gleick (@James Gleick) 1616956958
However, the interview is not the first time that Graham has wheeled out this fantasy, as he also claimed in 2019 that his AR-15 was needed to defend himself against a hypothetical state of lawlessness in South Carolina.
He told reporters that he had the weapon in case “there’s a hurricane, a natural disaster, no power, no cops, no anything”, adding that he wanted supposed looters to be afraid of coming to his house.
“I think if you show up on the porch with an AR-15 they’ll probably go down the street,” he reportedly said.
@LindseyGrahamSC "I think if you show up on the porch with an AR-15 they'll probably go down the street," explains @LindseyGrahamSC.— Steve Herman (@Steve Herman) 1565364297
So if there’s ever a natural disaster in South Carolina, make sure you stay well away from Lindsey Graham’s house...