Lawrence K. "Larry" Grooms (born March 20, 1964) is a Republican member of the

South Carolina Senate The South Carolina Senate is the upper house of the South Carolina General Assembly, the lower house being the South Carolina House of Representatives. It consists of 46 senators elected from single member districts for four-year terms at the sa ...

, representing the 37th District. He has served as the

Chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

of the Senate Transportation Committee since 2007.

Early life

Grooms grew up in the small town of St. Stephen, South Carolina and received a degree from Clemson University.

Career

After college, Grooms started a

convenience store A convenience store, convenience shop, corner store or corner shop is a small retail business that stocks a range of everyday items such as coffee, groceries, snack foods, confectionery, soft drinks, ice creams, tobacco products, lottery ticket ...

, which he successfully expanded into a chain of gas stations throughout the South Carolina Lowcountry. His political career started when he was elected to the state senate in 1997 as a Republican. He has maintained a strongly conservative voting record throughout his tenure. In May 2009, Grooms announced his candidacy for

Governor of South Carolina The governor of South Carolina is the head of government of South Carolina. The governor is the '' ex officio'' commander-in-chief of the National Guard when not called into federal service. The governor's responsibilities include making year ...

in the 2010 gubernational election but ended his campaign in January 2010. He founded the South Carolina Legislative Prayer Caucus in 2016 and has served as chairman since. Grooms is firmly opposed to

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same Legal sex and gender, sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being ...

. He is also staunchly anti-abortion and in December 2020 filed a

heartbeat bill A six-week abortion ban or early abortion ban, called a "heartbeat bill" or "fetal heartbeat bill" by proponents, is a form of abortion restriction legislation in the United States. These bans make abortion illegal as early as six weeks gestatio ...

prohibiting abortions after six weeks gestational age.

Planned Parenthood The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA), or simply Planned Parenthood, is a nonprofit organization that provides reproductive health care in the United States and globally. It is a tax-exempt corporation under Internal Reve ...

and other pro-choice organizations sued the State of South Carolina over the newly enacted law and preliminary injunction was issued the next day. In recognition of his efforts, Grooms was named Pro-Life Legislator of the Year by South Carolina Citizens for Life in both 2012 and in 2016. Grooms is an advocate for school choice. In 2021, he voted in support of a bill to establish "Schools of Innovation", which receive students irrespective of where they live. He praised the bill for bringing "

free market In economics, a free market is an economic system in which the prices of goods and services are determined by supply and demand expressed by sellers and buyers. Such markets, as modeled, operate without the intervention of government or any o ...

principles into the delivery of educational service." The REACH Act, which he penned, was signed into law in spring 2021, requiring public high schools and universities to instruct students on America's founding documents, including the

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 Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...

, Declaration of Independence, and

Federalist Papers ''The Federalist Papers'' is a collection of 85 articles and essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay under the collective pseudonym "Publius" to promote the ratification of the Constitution of the United States. The co ...

. In 2017, in an exchange with a constituent on Facebook, Grooms affirmed his support for Roy Moore's Alabama Senate campaign despite sexual abuse allegations against Moore. In a later interview, Grooms qualified his answer, saying, "If the allegations are proved to be true, it would be a different story."

Personal life

Grooms, his wife Carol, and their three sons live in

Bonneau, South Carolina Bonneau is a town in Berkeley County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 487 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Charleston–North Charleston– Summerville Metropolitan Statistical Area. History The community was named ...

. He is a life member of the National Association of Texaco and Shell Marketers and the

National Rifle Association The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) is a gun rights advocacy group based in the United States. Founded in 1871 to advance rifle marksmanship, the modern NRA has become a prominent Gun politics in the United States, gun rights ...

Notes and references

External links

Larry Grooms for Congress
(archive)

(archive)
Project Vote Smart biography
(archive) *Campaign contribution database archives fo
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an
2006
on FollowTheMoney.org. {{DEFAULTSORT:Grooms, Larry 1964 births Living people Republican Party South Carolina state senators People from St. Stephen, South Carolina Clemson University alumni 21st-century American politicians