[2] Haskins graduated in 1981 from the University of South Carolina School of Law in the capital city of Columbia and returned to Greenville to begin his legal practice.

In 1990, he lost a bid for the United States House of Representatives from South Carolina's 4th congressional district to the Democrat Liz J. Patterson, who had previously defeated the Republicans Bill Workman in 1986 and Knox H. White in 1988, the current mayor of Greenville.

[3] Although he continued to take conservative positions on such topics as sex education in the schools, Haskins quickly developed bipartisan relationships in the state legislature, having endorsed affirmative action, the election of African American judges, and the admission of women to The Citadel.

By 1999, he was influential in settling the two most divisive political issues of the period, including the compromise by which the legislature was able to remove the Confederate battle flag from flying over the state capitol.

[5] Through careful political strategy, he was also able to end video poker in South Carolina, an issue that had led to the defeat in 1998 of one-term Republican Governor David Beasley.

Let us bow this morning to the ingenuity of Rep. Terry Haskins and the wisdom of our Supreme Court which stood up for the people while many elected to represent us took to cover in the tall grass.