Al Lawson
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Alfred James Lawson Jr. (born September 23, 1948) is an American businessman and politician who was the U.S. representative for Florida's 5th congressional district from 2017 to 2023. The district, which was eliminated following redistricting during the 2022 Florida legislative session, stretched across most of the border with
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
, including most of the majority-black areas between Tallahassee and
Jacksonville Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...
. Lawson challenged fellow Congressman Neal Dunn in the newly redrawn 2nd congressional district, which pitted them against each other in Lawson's home city. Lawson won the Democratic primary unopposed, and lost to Dunn in the general election. Lawson served in the Florida legislature for 28 years, from 1982 to 2000 in the
Florida House of Representatives The Florida House of Representatives is the lower house of the Florida Legislature, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida Senate being the upper house. Article III, Section 1 of the C ...
and from 2000 to 2010 in the
Florida Senate The Florida Senate is the upper house of the Florida Legislature, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida House of Representatives being the lower house. Article III, Section 1 of the C ...
(representing the 6th district), where he was elected to serve as the Democratic leader and rose to the rank of "Dean of the Senate" before his election to Congress. After two failed campaigns for Congress, Lawson defeated incumbent Corrine Brown in the 2016 Democratic primary and won the general election.


Early life and education

Lawson was born in Midway, Florida, and attended Havana Northside High School, where he was a standout athlete in basketball and track. He went on to be a basketball star at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU), where he earned a
bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...
in political science. After a brief stint as a professional basketball player with the
Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...
and
Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Easte ...
, Lawson returned to Tallahassee, where he landed a job at
Florida State University Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...
as an assistant basketball coach and took the Seminoles to the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament. Lawson also earned his
Master of Public Administration A Master of Public Administration (MPA) is a specialized professional graduate degree in public administration that prepares students for leadership roles, similar or equivalent to a Master of Business Administration but with an emphasis on the ...
from Florida State University. Lawson is an
Episcopalian Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protes ...
.


U.S. House of Representatives


Elections


2010

Lawson ran for the Democratic nomination in in 2010, challenging seven-term incumbent Allen Boyd. He narrowly lost to Boyd in the Democratic primary, and Boyd lost to Republican newcomer Steve Southerland in the general election by more than 12 percentage points.


2012

Lawson ran for the seat again, and won the Democratic nomination against Blue Dog-endorsed state representative Leonard Bembry. He lost to Southerland in the general election by less than 6 points.


2016

A
lawsuit A lawsuit is a proceeding by one or more parties (the plaintiff or claimant) against one or more parties (the defendant) in a civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today ...
challenging the Florida congressional district map radically changed the 5th district. For the past quarter-century, the district and its predecessors had covered most of the majority-black precincts from Jacksonville to Orlando. The new map changed the district to an east–west configuration stretching across all or part of eight counties from Tallahassee to downtown Jacksonville. The redrawn district included Lawson's home in Tallahassee, and Lawson announced he would run for the 5th on December 15, 2015, setting up a battle against Corrine Brown, the only representative the district had had since its creation in 1993. The district's demographics appeared to be against Lawson. While it now included most of Tallahassee, the capital and its suburbs only accounted for 32% of the district's population, while the Jacksonville area-Brown's base-accounted for 61%. But Lawson's candidacy received a significant boost in July 2016, when Brown was indicted on federal corruption charges. He defeated Brown in the Democratic primary—the real contest in this heavily Democratic district—on August 30. He then defeated Republican Glo Smith in the November 8 general election with 64% of the vote.


Committee assignments

* Committee on Agriculture ** Subcommittee on Nutrition ** Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management *
United States House Committee on Financial Services The United States House Committee on Financial Services, also referred to as the House Banking Committee and previously known as the Committee on Banking and Currency, is the United States congressional committee, committee of the United States ...
** Diversity and Inclusion ** Housing, Community Development and Insurance ** Consumer Protection and Financial Institutions


Caucus memberships

* Congressional Black Caucus * New Democrat Coalition


Political positions


Gun policy

After the
Stoneman Douglas High School shooting On February 14, 2018, a mass shooting occurred when 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz opened fire on students and staff at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, part of the Miami metropolitan area, Parkland, Florida, killing 17 people and injuring 18 ot ...
in
Parkland, Florida Parkland is a city in northern Broward County, Florida, United States. It is a suburb of Miami and located north of the city. As of the 2020 census, the population of Parkland was 34,670. Parkland is part of the Miami metropolitan area, which ...
, Lawson expressed frustration with the lack of action on gun regulation and placed blame on lobbying organizations, saying "the stranglehold of the gun lobby has gone on long enough". Lawson supports restriction on
assault weapon In the United States, ''assault weapon'' is a controversial term applied to different kinds of firearms. There is no clear, consistent definition. It can include semi-automatic firearms with a detachable magazine, a pistol grip, and sometime ...
s. In 2017, he voted no on the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017, which would require all states to recognize concealed carry permits issued in other states. Additionally, those with concealed carry permits would be permitted to carry concealed weapons in school zones. Lawson also voted no on th
Veterans Second Amendment Protection Act
which would have allowed veterans who are considered "mentally incompetent" to purchase ammunition and firearms unless declared a danger by a judge.


Yemeni civil war

Lawson was one of five house Democrats to vote for the U.S. to continue selling arms to Saudi Arabia and to support the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen. This vote was part a vote series that allowed debate and votes on the Farm Bill in 2018, which he called a necessary step to provide assistance to farmers in his largely agricultural district.


See also

* List of African-American United States representatives


References


External links


Congressman Al Lawson
official U.S. House website
Campaign website
* , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Lawson, Alfred Jr. 1948 births 20th-century African-American politicians 21st-century African-American politicians African-American members of the United States House of Representatives African-American state legislators in Florida Democratic Party Florida state senators Democratic Party members of the Florida House of Representatives Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Florida Episcopalians from Florida Florida A&M University alumni Florida State University alumni Living people 21st-century members of the Florida Legislature 21st-century members of the United States House of Representatives