Deborah Jeanne Dawkins (''

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

'' Johnson, born December 1, 1951) is an American politician who was a Democratic former member of the Mississippi Senate, representing the 48th District from 1999 to 2020.

Senate career

Dawkins was a volunteer lobbyist for groups including the

Sierra Club The Sierra Club is an environmental organization with chapters in all 50 United States, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. The club was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by Scottish-American preservationist John Muir, who be ...

and the

League of Women Voters The League of Women Voters (LWV or the League) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan political organization in the United States. Founded in 1920, its ongoing major activities include registering voters, providing voter information, and advocating for vot ...

at the

Mississippi Legislature The Mississippi Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The bicameral Legislature is composed of the lower Mississippi House of Representatives, with 122 members, and the upper Mississippi State Senate, with 52 me ...

from 1996 to 1999. In 1999, she decided to run for the

Mississippi State Senate The Mississippi Senate is the upper house of the Mississippi Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The Senate, along with the lower Mississippi House of Representatives, convenes at the Mississippi State Capitol ...

. In an upset, Dawkins defeated 12-year incumbent Clyde Woodfield in the Democratic primary, and met no opposition in the general election for the 2000-2004 term. In the 2016-2020 session, Dawkins was a member of nine Senate committees, and was the primary sponsor of 634 bills and the secondary sponsor of one bill. Upon Governor

Phil Bryant Dewey Phillip Bryant (born December 9, 1954) is an American politician who served as the 64th governor of Mississippi from 2012 to 2020. A member of the Republican Party, he was the 31st lieutenant governor of Mississippi from 2008 to 2012 and 4 ...

signing a bill into law in 2014 that banned

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...

s from taking place after 18 weeks of pregnancy, Dawkins said, "''It occurs to me the past few years that a lot of men do not understand how the female body works. This is about removing the rights of women without means, whether anybody here is willing to admit it or not. Because this is women's bodies, and they're used to controlling women in so many other ways, they're very comfortable with it.''" She has also expressed her support for legalization of

medical marijuana Medical cannabis, or medical marijuana (MMJ), is cannabis and cannabinoids that are prescribed by physicians for their patients. The use of cannabis as medicine has not been rigorously tested due to production and governmental restrictions ...

. In January 2015 Dawkins introduced a bill into the legislature that would give patients with serious medical conditions the access to medical marijuana and would reclassify the drug as a Schedule II substance. Dawkins filed for reelection in 2019; however, she lost the Democratic primary with 41.3% of the vote.

Personal life

Dawkins has three children and four grandchildren. Dawkins attends Mount Zion Methodist Church in DeLisle, Mississippi. Dawkins is a member of several organizations including the League of Women Voters, National Caucus of Environmental Legislators, America Association of University Women, and the University of Southern Mississippi Alumni Association.

References

External links

Mississippi State Senate - Deborah Jeanne Dawkins
official government website
Project Vote Smart - Senator Deborah Jeanne Dawkins (MS)
profile *''Follow the Money'' - Deborah Jeanne Dawkins
2007200520031999
campaign contributions {{DEFAULTSORT:Dawkins, Deborah Jeanne Democratic Party Mississippi state senators 1951 births Living people People from Pass Christian, Mississippi Women state legislators in Mississippi University of Southern Mississippi alumni 21st-century American legislators 21st-century American women politicians