Sen. Lindsey Graham and Police Chief Clash on Gun Background Checks

At a hearing in the U.S. Senate today, Sen. Lindsey Graham had a sharp exchange with Milwaukee Police Chief Edward Flynn over the frequency of arrests over failed background checks.

Flynn was testifying at the hearing from a law enforcement perspective.

Graham noted that in 2010 almost 80,000 people failed background checks but only 44 people are prosecuted.

"What kind of deterrent is that?” Graham wondered.

“How many cases have you made?” Graham asked Flynn.

“You know what? It doesn’t matter,” said Flynn. “I want to stop 76,000 people from buying guns illegally — that’s what a background check does."

Flynn went on to say that spending time chasing down failed background checks would not be a good use of his resources.

Since the renewed urgency for gun control in the wake of the Newtown massacre, Graham has been a strong supporter of maintaining the current .