What a GOP Senator and Potential 2016 Contender Says Is a 'Better Check' Against 'Governmental Tryanny' Than the Second Amendment

An informed electorate is a better check against governmental tyranny than the Second Amendment.

That was the message Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C) sent Thursday while responding to comments by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas).

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., speaks with reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

"Well, we tried that once in South Carolina. I wouldn't go down that road again," Graham, who has been weighing a 2016 presidential bid, told Talking Points Memo. "I think an informed electorate is probably a better check than, you know, guns in the streets."

Graham later added that although he supports the Second Amendment as a way for citizens to protect themselves, their property and their families, he believes the First Amendment and voter participation is a better check on government.

The comment came on the heels of an email sent out from Cruz's presidential campaign, in which the junior Texas senator told supporters that the Second Amendment isn't there just to protect hunters.

"It is a constitutional right to protect your children, your family, your home, our lives and to serve as the ultimate check against governmental tyranny  – for the protection of liberty," Cruz said in the email.

Graham, by contrast, said he's not looking for an "insurrection."

"I'm looking to defeat Hillary. We're not going to out-gun her," Graham said.

(H/T: Talking Points Memo)

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