Charles William Carrico Sr. (born November 6, 1961) is an American politician who served as a member of the Senate of Virginia from 2012 to 2020, representing the 40th district. He was previously a member of the

Virginia House of Delegates The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two parts of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-number ...

from 2002 to 2012.

Career

From 2002 to 2011, he was a member of the

, representing the

5th district District 5, 5 District or 5th District may refer to: Europe * District 5 (Zürich) * District 5, Düsseldorf * V District, Turku * Districts of Malta#District 5, District 5, an electoral district of Malta * Districts of Malta#District 5 2, Distric ...

in the southwestern part of the state. Prior to that, he was a Virginia State Trooper. Carrico's campaign for Senate was heavily financed by coal mining interests such as

Alpha Natural Resources Alpha Natural Resources is a large American producer of metallurgical coal ("met coal") for the industrial production of steel and iron and low-sulfur thermal coal ("steam coal") to fuel steam boilers for the production of electrical power. In Nove ...

Consol Energy Consol Energy Inc. is an American energy company with interests in coal headquartered in the suburb of Cecil Township, in the Southpointe complex, just outside Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In 2017, Consol formed two separate entities: CNX Resour ...

and Richard Baxter Gilliam.

Tenure and issues

In 2005, Carrico introduced an amendment to the

religious freedom Freedom of religion or religious liberty is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance. It also includes the freedom ...

clause of the Virginia state

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these princ ...

, based on the

Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom The Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom was drafted in 1777 by Thomas Jefferson in Fredericksburg, Virginia, and introduced into the Virginia General Assembly in Richmond in 1779. On January 16, 1786, the Assembly enacted the statute into the st ...

written by

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was previously the natio ...

. The amendment posited a positive right to permit prayer on "public property, including public schools". The proposed amendment passed the House but died in the

Virginia State Senate The Senate of Virginia is the upper house of the Virginia General Assembly. The Senate is composed of 40 senators representing an equal number of single-member constituent districts. The Senate is presided over by the lieutenant governor of Virg ...

. Carrico was the Republican nominee for in the 2006 midterm elections, but was defeated by Democratic incumbent

Rick Boucher Frederick Carlyle Boucher (; born August 1, 1946) is an American politician who was the U.S. representative for from 1983 to 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party. He was defeated in his bid for a 15th term by Republican Morgan Griff ...

. In January 2013, Carrico introduced a measure to reapportion Virginia's presidential electoral votes away from a winner-takes-all system to a proportional system similar to those in

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and ...

and

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...

. On the issue of marijuana, Carrico said in 2014, "I think it’s a gateway drug. It enhances and gives reason for people to do things that are a lot stronger than marijuana. I believe ... that it can become abused and it’s like other drugs we have problems with like oxycodone ... that once it’s out there, it can be a harmful drug and get in the hands of others and start the trend of abuse." In 2015, Carrico introduced SB 40, which would provide "that a clerk or deputy clerk shall not be required to issue a marriage license if such clerk has an objection to the issuance of such license on personal, ethical, moral, or religious grounds." Along with this he introduced SB 41, which would provide "that no individual authorized to solemnize any marriage shall be required to do so and no religious organization shall be required to provide services, accommodations, facilities, goods, or privileges for a purpose related to the solemnization of any marriage if the action would cause the individual or organization to violate a sincerely held religious belief."

Personal life

He lives in unincorporated

Grayson County, Virginia Grayson County is a county located in the southwestern part of the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 15,333. Its county seat is Independence. Mount Rogers, the state's highest peak at , is in Grayson County. ...

with his wife Paula.

References

External links

Senate of Virginia: Bio for Charles W. Carrico Sr. (2012 session)Virginia Public Access Project: Charles W. Carrico Sr.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carrico, Charles William Sr. 1961 births Living people Republican Party Virginia state senators Republican Party members of the Virginia House of Delegates People from Galax, Virginia American state police officers People from Marion, Virginia 21st-century American politicians Candidates in the 2006 United States elections