Petition calls for national holiday to honor Billy Graham

An online petition with nearly 50,000 signatures is calling on lawmakers to create a national holiday in honor of Rev. Billy Graham.

The Change.org petition calls on President Donald Trump, Sen. Thom Tillis, Sen. Richard Burr and Congress to declare the holiday in recognition of Graham’s impact on the world.

The petition, started six days ago by Kyle Siler, states:

Mr. Graham preached the Gospel to more people in live audiences than anyone else in history-nearly 215 million people in more than 185 countries and territories- through various meetings, including Mission World and Global Mission. Hundreds of millions more have been reached through television, video, film and webcasts. Mr. Graham’s counsel was sought by presidents, and his appeal in both the secular and religious arenas is evidenced by the wide range of groups that have honored him, including numerous honorary doctorates from many institutions in the U.S. and abroad. Help us with our cause of setting a national holiday to remember this great man.

Graham died Feb. 21 at his home in the mountain town of Montreat at the age of 99. He became the first private citizen since civil rights icon Rosa Parks in 2005 to lie in honor at the U.S. Capitol before being buried on the grounds of the Billy Graham Library on Friday.

As of 7:30 p.m. Sunday, the petition had more than 48,900 signatures with a goal of 50,000 signatures.