| Bruce Borders | |
| State House: | Indiana |
| District: | 45th |
| Term Start: | November 5, 2014 |
| Predecessor: | Bionca Gambil |
| Term Start1: | November 3, 2004 |
| Term End1: | November 7, 2012 |
| Predecessor1: | Allen Chowning[1] |
| Successor1: | Kreg Battles |
| Office2: | Mayor of Jasonville, Indiana |
| Term Start2: | 1987 |
| Term End2: | 1995 |
| Predecessor2: | Lawrence Howard[2] |
| Successor2: | Jerry Haseman[3] |
| Birth Name: | Bruce Alan Borders |
| Birth Place: | Indiana |
| Party: | Republican |
| Spouse: | Lola |
| Children: | 3 |
| Relatives: | 6 grandchildren |
| Occupation: | Elvis impersonator |
| Religion: | Christian |
| Mawards: | is not set --> |
Bruce Alan Borders is the current State Representative for the 45th District in the Indiana House of Representatives. He is also a former mayor of the town of Jasonville, Indiana.[4] He is also an Elvis impersonator.[5]
Borders was first elected to the Indiana House of Representatives in 2004. He represented House District 45, which includes portions of Greene, Daviess, Sullivan, Knox and Vigo Counties.[4]
He is a member of the Local Government Committee, Insurance Committee, and the Statutory Committee on Interstate and International Cooperation.[4]
Borders was one of the Indiana Republicans who helped pass SB 101, or the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. The Indianapolis Star reported that "Rep. Bruce Borders, R-Jasonville, spoke about an anesthesiologist who didn't want to anesthetize a woman in preparation for an abortion. Borders said he believes the Bible's command to "do all things as unto the Lord" means religious believers need to be protected not just in church, but in their workplaces as well." The Christian Science Monitor reports this: "“If we truly are doing things unto the Lord, our business can be ... a church or sanctuary,” argued Indiana Republican Rep. Bruce Borders on the House floor Monday, bringing up the question of the anesthesiologist. “People deserve protection in their businesses as well, not just on Sunday morning.”[6] [7]
One of the bills introduced by Borders for the Indiana 2017 session was HB 1361.[8] The bill's wording in its entirety "Birth certificate information. Provides that, subject to certain exceptions, the gender listed on an individual's birth certificate and permanent record made from the birth certificate may not be changed." The bill seen as anti-transgender by LGBT advocacy groups. Freedom Indiana, an Indiana-based LGBT advocacy group, stated the bill denied "the very existence of transgender people, the identity they live as and the person they have always known themselves to be." Borders responded to the outcry stating "This was not a philosophically driven thing, I just respect accuracy in all legal records."[9] As published by Greene County Daily, a news site in the county he resides, "Borders said the premise of the bill was based on information received from an individual who works with medical records. The person said transgender individuals are making changes to their birth certificates to convey the gender in which they live each day." In the same article Borders stated "In absence of an error, they (birth certificates) should stand as they are ... What we’ve got is perception overwriting the truth,".[10] The bill was not advanced out of committee for the 2017 legislation.
Bruce also has his family, his wife Lola. He also has three children, Bethany is the oldest, Rebekah is the middle child, and Jordan is the youngest. He also has five grandchildren, Felicity is the oldest,Andrew is the second oldest, Elijah is the third oldest, Joshua is the fourth oldest, and Levi is the youngest.
Borders has been featured in television and print several times as Elvis. Among his appearances:[5]
Borders obtained a BBA in Business Management from Evangel College in Springfield, Missouri.[4]