Warren E. Limmer (born January 24, 1955) is a

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

politician and member of the

Minnesota Senate The Minnesota Senate is the upper house of the Legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota. At 67 members, half as many as the Minnesota House of Representatives, it is the largest upper house of any U.S. state legislature. Floor sessions are hel ...

. A member of the

Republican Party of Minnesota The Republican Party of Minnesota is the oldest active political party in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The Minnesota Republican Party’s platform is relatively moderate. The party’s main issues are economic growth, education, healthcare, civi ...

, he represents the 34th District, which includes portions of

Hennepin County Hennepin County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. Its county seat is Minneapolis, the state's most populous city. The county is named in honor of the 17th-century explorer Father Louis Hennepin. The county extends from Minneapol ...

in the northwestern

Twin Cities Twin cities are a special case of two neighboring cities or urban centres that grow into a single conurbation – or narrowly separated urban areas – over time. There are no formal criteria, but twin cities are generally comparable in statu ...

metropolitan area. Limmer previously served in the

Minnesota House of Representatives The Minnesota House of Representatives is the lower house of the Legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota. There are 134 members, twice as many as the Minnesota Senate. Floor sessions are held in the north wing of the State Capitol in Saint Pa ...

, and in 1998 he sought the Republican endorsement for

Minnesota Secretary of State The secretary of state of Minnesota is a constitutional officer in the executive branch of government of the U.S. State of Minnesota. Twenty-two individuals have held the office of secretary of state since statehood. The incumbent is Steve Simon, ...

, losing to

Mary Kiffmeyer Mary Kiffmeyer (born December 29, 1946) is an American politician. She served as Minnesota Secretary of State from 1999 to 2007 and went on to serves in the Minnesota legislature. A member of the Republican Party of Minnesota, she previously repr ...

. He was the author of the 2012 Minnesota constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage.

Early life, education, and career

Limmer attended

North Hennepin Community College North Hennepin Community College (NHCC) is a public community college in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota. It was founded in 1966 and is a member of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system. History The college was founded in 1966 as N ...

, where he received an A.A., and St. Cloud State University, where he received a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

criminal justice Criminal justice is the delivery of justice to those who have been accused of committing crimes. The criminal justice system is a series of government agencies and institutions. Goals include the Rehabilitation (penology), rehabilitation of o ...

studies. He worked as a

corrections officer A prison officer or corrections officer is a uniformed law enforcement official responsible for the custody, supervision, safety, and regulation of prisoners. They are responsible for the care, custody, and control of individuals who have been ...

before serving in the legislature. Limmer is a former member of the

Corrections Advisory Commission and the

Crystal A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituents (such as atoms, molecules, or ions) are arranged in a highly ordered microscopic structure, forming a crystal lattice that extends in all directions. In addition, macros ...

Human Rights Commission. He now works as a

real estate agent A real estate agent or real estate broker is a person who represents sellers or buyers of real estate or real property. While a broker may work independently, an agent usually works under a licensed broker to represent clients. Brokers and agen ...

Minnesota Legislature

Before being elected to the

, Limmer was a member of the

, first elected in 1988 in the old House District 48A, and reelected in 1990, 1992 and 1994. After the 1992

redistricting Redistribution (re-districting in the United States and in the Philippines) is the process by which electoral districts are added, removed, or otherwise changed. Redistribution is a form of boundary delimitation that changes electoral dist ...

, the area became House District 33B. Limmer was first elected to the Senate in a February 1995 special election held after Senator Patrick McGowan resigned upon being elected Hennepin County Sheriff. Limmer has been continuously reelected since, running unopposed in 2010. He served as an

assistant minority leader A whip is an official of a political party whose task is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. This means ensuring that members of the party vote according to the party platform, rather than according to their own individual ideology o ...

from 2005 to 2006. His special legislative concerns include

public education State schools (in England, Wales, Australia and New Zealand) or public schools (Scottish English and North American English) are generally primary or secondary schools that educate all students without charge. They are funded in whole or in pa ...

, safe school legislation,

economic development In the economics study of the public sector, economic and social development is the process by which the economic well-being and quality of life of a nation, region, local community, or an individual are improved according to targeted goals and o ...

, and

tax reform Tax reform is the process of changing the way taxes are collected or managed by the government and is usually undertaken to improve tax administration or to provide economic or social benefits. Tax reform can include reducing the level of taxatio ...

. On April 27, 2011, Limmer introduced a bill to propose a referendum on an amendment to the

Minnesota Constitution The Constitution of the State of Minnesota was initially approved by the residents of Minnesota Territory in a special election held on October 13, 1857, and was ratified by the United States Senate on May 11, 1858, marking the admittance of Minne ...

banning same-sex marriage. The bill passed, and Minnesota voters rejected the amendment in the 2012 general election by six percentage points. Also in 2012 voters rejected Republicans' attempt to require government-issued identification to vote, siding with amendment opponents who argued that Voter ID would disproportionately suppress votes of immigrants, the elderly, disabled people and communities of color, and elected a Democratic majority in both the House and Senate, throwing Republicans out after only two years in the majority in both chambers—a result considered to be electoral backlash to Republican overreach. In the following legislative session DFL Senator Scott Dibble and DFL Representative Karen Clark introduced bills to legalize same-sex marriage in Minnesota. The

voted 75–59 in favor of legalization. A few days later, after debate on the Senate floor, the body also voted for legalization, 37–30. On May 14, 2013, in front of a crowd of 7,000 people on the Capitol Mall in St. Paul, Governor Mark Dayton signed Dibble's and Clark's marriage equality bill into law, making Minnesota the 12th state to legalize gay marriage. Limmer opposes universal background checks for gun purchases. As chair of the Senate Judiciary's public safety committee, he has refused to allow any hearings on gun safety.

Personal life

Limmer and his wife Lori live in Maple Grove and have three children.

References

External links

Minnesota State Senator Warren Limmer Campaign
website
Minnesota State Senator Warren Limmer Legislative
website
Minnesota Public Radio Votetracker: Senator Warren LimmerProject Vote Smart - Senator Warren Limmer Profile
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Limmer, Warren 1955 births 21st-century American politicians American people of German descent American prison officers Living people Republican Party Minnesota state senators People from Maple Grove, Minnesota Presidents of the Minnesota Senate St. Cloud State University alumni