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Petition for National ‘Billy Graham Day’ Holiday Has Almost 110,000 Signatures

Petition for 'Billy Graham Day'
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Billy Graham National Holiday petition blazes past 100,000 signatures

Kyle Siler started a petition on Change.org, asking Congress, President Donald Trump, and other officials to make a national holiday for Billy Graham[/tweetit], an evangelist, and reverend. After the launch of the petition a week ago, it has gone viral, gaining the attention of hundreds of thousands of people.

Petition for National ‘Billy Graham Day’ Holiday Has Almost 120,000 Signatures[/tweetthis]

Less than 33,000 more signatures needed

By Monday afternoon, the petition had over 115,000 signatures, making the 150,000 mark seem like a realistic goal to hit in the next couple days. Despite gaining large amounts of traction, no politician has stepped up to lead this honorable cause. Congress has been responsible for creating 11 federal holidays, out of which, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day was the last one, in 1983. The creation of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day took 15 years of debates, before becoming official.

Billy Graham, a legend

Billy Graham toured more than 185 countries and touched the lives of 215 million people globally. He has been able to achieve this through his Global Mission, Mission World, and other meetings.

Since Graham has started preaching, his words of wisdom have reached people through webcasts, films, videos, and television. Even presidents have approached Billy for counseling, which just goes to show how much of an impact he made in the world. His appeal in religious and secular areas is great, as several groups have honored him. Several institutions, both in the United States and other parts of the world, have given him a plethora of honorary doctorates for his work.

Graham passed away on February 21, 2018 at 99-years-old. His funeral on March 2, in North Carolina, was attended by several former presidents and current President Donald Trump. In the list of private citizens who were laid down in the prestigious U.S. Capitol, Billy Graham was the fourth.

Siler has never attended any of Billy Graham’s crusades. However, his grandfather followed Graham religiously, as he had several books and recordings of the reverend. Siler said that if he got enough signatures for his petition, he wanted to establish a national holiday to honor his grandfather and the reverend.

However, the president and Congress don’t have the individual power to proclaim a national holiday. The power rests in the states, as they get to decide which holidays they want to observe.

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