Graham on Supreme Court's Decision in Affirmative Action Case

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham released this statement following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decisions in the cases Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard College and Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina.

Senator Graham signed in support of an amicus brief in support of overturning race-based admissions.  The full brief is available HERE.

Graham said:

“This decision encapsulates constitutionally sound principles and fundamental fairness. 

“Providing benefits to one group at the expense of another, who have done nothing wrong, has never been fair.  The Supreme Court rightly decided race conscience decisions, pitting one group against another, are wrong.  It was a long overdue decision. 

“I agree with Chief Justice John Roberts, who in his majority decision, summed up the legal and moral rationale for the Court’s decision:

“The student must be treated based on his or her experiences as an individual—not on the basis of race.  Many universities have for too long done just the opposite. And in doing so, they have concluded, wrongly, that the touchstone of an individual’s identity is not challenges bested, skills built, or lessons learned but the color of their skin. Our constitutional history does not tolerate that choice.”

“Finally, this is yet another example of the importance of nominating and confirming constitutional conservatives to the Supreme Court.”

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