Gerald Allen (politician) explained

Gerald Allen
State Senate:Alabama
District:21st
Term Start:November 3, 2010
Predecessor:Phil Poole
State House2:Alabama
District2:62nd
Term Start2:1994
Term End2:November 3, 2010
Successor2:John Merrill
Birth Date:8 February 1950
Birth Place:Tuscaloosa, Alabama, U.S.
Party:Democratic (before 1995)
Republican (1995 - present)
Children:Wes Allen

Gerald H. Allen (born February 8, 1950) is a Republican lawmaker in the Alabama Senate. He previously served in the Alabama House of Representatives.

Early life

George H. Allen was born on February 8, 1950, in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.[1]

Career

Allen was first elected to the Alabama House in 1994. In 2005, Allen proposed Alabama House Bill 30 (HB30), which would have banned public school libraries from purchasing books by gay authors or with gay characters.[2] The bill did not become law.

Allen defeated incumbent Phil Poole, a Democrat, in the 2010 elections to the Alabama Senate.[3] In 2011, Allen proposed a bill to ban Sharia law. He sponsored a 2014 amendment to the Alabama Constitution banning "foreign law".[4]

In 2017, Allen sponsored a bill for the Alabama Memorial Preservation Act to make it harder to remove Confederate monuments in Alabama.[5]

In May 2019, he voted to make abortion a crime at any stage in a pregnancy, with no exemptions for cases of rape or incest.[6]

Personal life

Allen is the father of incumbent Secretary of State of Alabama and former state representative Wes Allen. Both made history for being the first father and son to serve at the same time in the Alabama legislature when Wes Allen was elected to the House in 2018.[7]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Gerald Allen's Biography - The Voter's Self Defense System - Vote Smart. Project Vote Smart.
  2. News: Alabama Bill Targets Gay Authors . Holguin . Jaime . April 27, 2005 . CBS News . February 20, 2009.
  3. Web site: Tuscaloosa County delegation switches to GOP. TuscaloosaNews.com.
  4. Web site: Ballot measure would block "foreign law" in Alabama. The Anniston Star. September 5, 2014 .
  5. News: Lyman. Brian. House approves historic monument bill after heated debate. May 19, 2017. The Montgomery Advertiser. April 27, 2017.
  6. News: Durkin . Erin . Benwell . Max . These 25 white men – all Republicans – just voted to ban abortion in Alabama . The Guardian . 15 May 2019.
  7. Web site: 2019-03-05. New State Representative Wes Allen Ready for First Session. 2020-06-21. Alabama News. en-US.