David G. Lawson

David G. Lawson (born October 29, 1946) is an American politician and a Republican member of the Delaware Senate, where he has represented the 15th District since 2011.[1]

David Lawson
Member of the Delaware Senate
from the 15th district
Assumed office
November 10, 2010
Preceded byNancy W. Cook
Personal details
Born (1946-10-29) October 29, 1946
Johnstown, Pennsylvania
Political partyRepublican
ResidenceHarrington, Delaware
Alma materDelaware Technical Community College, Glendale Community College (California), Delaware State Police Academy
Websitewww.senatordavelawson.com

Biography

Lawson was born on October 29, 1946 in Johnstown, Pennsylvania and raised on a farm in the Allegheny Mountains.[2][3]

Lawson enlisted in the United States Air Force and completed a tour of duty in Vietnam before being honorably discharged in 1969. After his retirement from the Air Force, Lawson settled in Harrington, Delaware where he served as a volunteer with the Harrington Fire Company. He began a career in law enforcement with the Milford Police Department where he worked as a policeman until transferring to the Delaware State Police in 1973. He retired in 1992 and served as a Delaware State Police Range Instructor and as the Lieutenant of the Special Operations Response Team. Lawson attended Glendale Community College, Delaware Technical Community College, and the Delaware State Police Academy.[4]

Lawson was rebuked by Senate President pro tempore David McBride in April 2017 after Lawson called it "despicable" to allow two Muslims to read from the Quran for the daily invocation.[5] Lawson also claimed that the Quran "calls for our very demise".[5] Muslim leaders and others in Delaware condemned Lawson's comments and described them as Islamophobic.[5][6][7] Lawson subsequently blamed McBride for holding up legislation that would require courts to use American law, claiming that McBride felt the bill was "anti-Muslim".[8]

In 2019, Lawson was criticized for pushing a bill to prevent "foreign laws" from being utilized in local courts, which was seen as targeting Islam in particular. Lawson responded by questioning whether Muslim Americans want to "subvert our constitution".[9]

Elections
  • In 2016, Lawson was unopposed for the Republican primary and won the general election unopposed with 15,036 votes.[10]
  • In 2012, Lawson was unopposed for the Republican primary and won the three-way general election with 9,547 votes (50.6%) against Democratic nominee Kathleen Cooke and Independent candidate Catherine Samardza.[11]
  • In 2010, Lawson was unopposed for the Republican primary and challenged incumbent Democratic Senator Nancy W. Cook in the general election, winning with 8,370 votes (52.3%).[12]

References
  1. "David Lawson's Biography". Vote Smart. Archived from the original on 2000-03-02. Retrieved 2020-11-10.
  2. "Who is Dave Lawson?". www.senatordavelawson.com. Archived from the original on 2016-06-26. Retrieved 2020-11-10.
  3. "Senator Dave G. Lawson (R)". Delaware General Assembly. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
  4. "Bio". Official website. Retrieved December 21, 2018.
  5. Albright, Matthew (April 5, 2017). "Delaware senator's anti-Muslim comments draw rebuke". The News Journal.
  6. Lehman, Tom (April 6, 2017). "Delaware Sen. Lawson Defends Comments on Muslim Prayer". WBOC16.
  7. "Letters to the editor: Lawson's comments 'despicable'". Letters to the Editor. The News Journal. April 7, 2017.
  8. Mueller, Sarah (May 6, 2018). "State Sen. Lawson argues legislation on American law doesn't target Muslims". Delaware Public Media.
  9. Barrish, Chris (28 June 2019). "Del. senator criticized for suggesting Muslims want to 'subvert our constitution'". WHYY-TV. Retrieved 2022-03-22.
  10. "State of Delaware General Election Official Results". Dover, Delaware: Delaware Commissioner of Elections. November 2, 2010. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
  11. "State of Delaware General Election Official Results". Dover, Delaware: Delaware Commissioner of Elections. November 8, 2012. Retrieved November 13, 2013.
  12. "State of Delaware General Election Official Results". Dover, Delaware: Delaware Commissioner of Elections. November 2, 2010. Retrieved November 13, 2013.
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