US Senator Lindsey Graham, a Republican lawmaker whose three decades in Congress were marked by opposition to many of the most significant advances in LGBTQ+ equality, has died aged 71 following what his office described as a “brief and sudden illness”.
The South Carolina politician served in the Senate for more than 23 years and became one of Donald Trump’s closest allies, despite famously describing him as a “kook” and a “race-baiting, xenophobic, religious bigot” during the 2016 Republican presidential primary campaign. Following Trump’s election, Graham underwent a dramatic political transformation, becoming one of the president’s most loyal defenders and influential advisers.
While Graham was widely respected in Washington for his expertise on foreign policy and national security, LGBTQ+ advocates are likely to remember him for his consistent opposition to equality measures. During his time in Congress, he voted for the Defence of Marriage Act, which defined marriage under federal law as between one man and one woman, and later backed a constitutional amendment that would have permanently banned same-sex marriage nationwide.
He also voted against the repeal of the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy in 2010, which forced lesbian, gay and bisexual service personnel to hide their sexuality or risk dismissal. Three years later, he opposed the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, legislation that would have provided federal workplace protections for LGBTQ+ people.
Although Graham said he would respect the Supreme Court’s landmark 2015 ruling legalising same-sex marriage across the United States, he made clear that he disagreed with the decision. In 2022, he was among the Republican senators who voted against the Respect for Marriage Act, which repealed the Defence of Marriage Act and guaranteed federal recognition of same-sex marriages. LGBTQ+ organisations including GLAAD repeatedly criticised his voting record throughout his career.
Graham's public life was also accompanied by years of speculation about his sexuality, fuelled largely by his lifelong bachelor status. He consistently denied being gay and publicly rejected rumours about his private life. Allegations circulated online for years, but none were independently substantiated or verified.
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