David G. Lawson (born October 29, 1946) is an American politician and a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

member of the

Delaware Senate The Delaware Senate is the upper house of the Delaware General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Delaware. It is composed of 21 Senators, each of whom is elected to a four-year term, except when reapportionment occurs, at wh ...

, where he has represented the 15th District since 2011.

Biography

Lawson was born on October 29, 1946, in

Johnstown, Pennsylvania Johnstown is a city in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 18,411 as of the 2020 census. Located east of Pittsburgh, Johnstown is the principal city of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Metropolitan Statistical Area, whi ...

, and raised on a farm in the

Allegheny Mountains The Allegheny Mountain Range (; also spelled Alleghany or Allegany), informally the Alleghenies, is part of the vast Appalachian Mountain Range of the Eastern United States and Canada and posed a significant barrier to land travel in less devel ...

. Lawson enlisted in the United States Air Force and completed a tour of duty in Vietnam before being honorably discharged in 1969. After his retirement from the Air Force, Lawson settled in Harrington, Delaware, where he served as a volunteer with the Harrington Fire Company. He began a career in law enforcement with the Milford Police Department where he worked as a policeman until transferring to the

Delaware State Police The Delaware State Police (DSP) is a division of the Delaware Department of Public Safety and Homeland Security and is responsible for traffic regulation and law enforcement across the state of Delaware, especially in areas underserved by local p ...

in 1973. He retired in 1992 and served as a Delaware State Police Range Instructor and as the Lieutenant of the Special Operations Response Team. Lawson attended Glendale Community College, Delaware Technical Community College, and the Delaware State Police Academy. Lawson was rebuked by Senate President pro tempore David McBride in April 2017 after Lawson called it "despicable" to allow two Muslims to read from the

Quran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , s ...

for the daily invocation. Lawson also claimed that the Quran "calls for our very demise". Muslim leaders and others in Delaware condemned Lawson's comments and described them as

Islamophobic Islamophobia is the fear of, hatred of, or prejudice against the religion of Islam or Muslims in general, especially when seen as a geopolitical force or a source of terrorism. The scope and precise definition of the term ''Islamophobia'' ...

. Lawson subsequently blamed McBride for holding up legislation that would require courts to use American law, claiming that McBride felt the bill was "anti-Muslim". In 2019, Lawson was criticized for pushing a bill to prevent "foreign laws" from being utilized in local courts, which was seen as targeting Islam in particular. Lawson responded by questioning whether Muslim Americans want to "subvert our constitution".

Elections

*In 2016, Lawson was unopposed for the Republican primary and won the general election unopposed with 15,036 votes. *In 2012, Lawson was unopposed for the Republican primary and won the three-way general election with 9,547 votes (50.6%) against Democratic nominee Kathleen Cooke and

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

candidate Catherine Samardza. *In 2010, Lawson was unopposed for the Republican primary and challenged incumbent Democratic Senator Nancy W. Cook in the general election, winning with 8,370 votes (52.3%).

References

External links

Official page
at the

Delaware General Assembly The Delaware General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. state of Delaware. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the Delaware Senate with 21 senators and the Delaware House of Representatives with 41 representatives. It meets at Legisl ...

Campaign site
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lawson, David G 1946 births Living people 21st-century American legislators Republican Party Delaware state senators Glendale Community College (California) alumni People from Kent County, Delaware