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Alan D. Clemmons (born December 6, 1958) is an American former member of the
South Carolina House of Representatives The South Carolina House of Representatives is the lower house of the South Carolina General Assembly. It consists of 124 representatives elected to two-year terms at the same time as U.S. congressional elections. Unlike many legislatures, seatin ...
, where he has served from 2002 until his resignation in 2020. He is a member of the Republican Party. Clemmons was born in
Myrtle Beach Myrtle Beach is a resort city on the East Coast of the United States in Horry County, South Carolina. It is located in the center of a long and continuous stretch of beach known as the " Grand Strand” in the northeastern part of the state. It ...
in 1958. From 1978 to 1980 Clemmons served as a
missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...
for
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...
in Southern Mexico. He is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Clemmons holds a bachelor's degree from
Coastal Carolina University Coastal Carolina University (CCU or Coastal) is a public university in Conway, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1954 as Coastal Carolina Junior College, and later joining the University of South Carolina System as USC Coastal Carolina, ...
and a JD from
Hamline University Hamline University ( ) is a private university in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. Founded in 1854, Hamline is the oldest university in Minnesota, the first coeducational university in the state, and is one of five Associated Colleges of th ...
. Clemmons currently practices real estate law in Myrtle Beach. Clemmons and his wife Laura Ann are the parents of two daughters.


Early political career

Clemmons was a member of the
Horry County Horry County ( ) is the easternmost County (United States), county in the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2010 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 351,029. It is the List of counties in South Carolina, fourth-most popu ...
Planning Commission from 1996 to 1998. He was a delegate to the Republican National Convention in 2000 and
2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...
, and was an alternate in
2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...
. He served as vice-chairman of the Horry County Republican Party from 1995 to 1997 and served as chairman from 1997 until 2000.


S.C. House of Representatives

Clemmons serves as Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee's Election Laws Subcommittee, putting him at the center on several items of note in the S.C. House of Representatives. His most significant accomplishments include writing South Carolina's Voter ID law. His work on the Voter ID law earned him the 2011 Terry Haskins Award from the
South Carolina Republican Party The South Carolina Republican Party (SCGOP) is the state affiliate of the national Republican Party in South Carolina. It is one of two major political parties in the state, along with the South Carolina Democratic Party, and is the dominant par ...
. In 2011 and 2012, Clemmons was also one of the chief architects of South Carolina's legislative and Congressional
redistricting Redistricting in the United States is the process of drawing electoral district boundaries. For the United States House of Representatives, and state legislatures, redistricting occurs after each ten-year census. The U.S. Constitution in Art ...
effort, securing the new Seventh Congressional District for the
Pee Dee The Pee Dee is a region in the northeast corner of the U.S. state of South Carolina. It lies along the lower watershed of the Pee Dee River, which was named after the Pee Dee, an Indigenous tribe historically inhabiting the region. History The ...
and
Grand Strand The Grand Strand is an arc of beach land on the Atlantic Ocean in South Carolina, United States, extending more than from Little River to Winyah Bay. It is located in Horry and Georgetown Counties on the northeastern South Carolina coast. Th ...
area of South Carolina. Clemmons' position as a subcommittee chairman ensured he played a key role in working to secure federal approval for redistricting the South Carolina House and the Congressional plans. Clemmons received the Terry Haskins Award again in 2012 for his work on issues important to the Republican Party Platform as well as for his work on the redistricting process. Clemmons has also taken the lead in South Carolina on pro-Israel issues. From 2004 until 2008, Clemmons served as Secretary-Treasurer of the S.C. House Republican Caucus. He was term-limited from seeking additional years in the position. He has also been a staunch voice in the S.C. General Assembly in favor of extending
Interstate 73 Interstate 73 (I-73) is a north–south Interstate Highway, currently located entirely within the US state of North Carolina. It travels , from northwest of Rockingham, North Carolina to northeast of Stokesdale, North Carolina, Stokesdale, ...
to Myrtle Beach. He served as Chairman for the South Carolina I-73 Association from 2003 to 2007 and currently serves as Board Chairman of the National I-73/I-74/I-75 Association. Rep. Clemmons has served as Chairman for the House Rules Committee since 2011. He is also a member of the House Judiciary Committee, in which he served as 2nd Vice Chairman from 2004 to 2006. Among other pieces of legislation, Clemmons was the sponsor of the Rider Safety Act which emphasizes the responsibility of individuals to act responsibly on amusement park rides. In April 2014, Clemmons introduced a bill to the House of Representatives that could pave the way for a large brewing company to construct a new brewery location in Myrtle Beach. Current legislation limits the amount barrels a beer produced per year to 2,000 to brewpubs that wish to produce beer and sell it in the same location. The bill, if passed, would allow a brewpub in South Carolina to produce up to 500,000 barrels of beer a year and still sell the beer at the brewing site. Clemmons received the following recognitions for his legislative and community service: South Carolina Hero, 2008, by the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP); Legislator of the Year, 2006, by the South Carolina Association of Realtors; Legislator of the Year, 2005, by the Association of Drug Stores; Special Legislative Commendation, 2004, by the South Carolina Silver Haired Legislature; and Distinguished Alumnus of the Year, 2004, by Coastal Carolina University. Clemmons entered the national spotlight during a case challenging whether a South Carolina
Voter ID A voter identification law is a law that requires a person to show some form of identification in order to vote. In some jurisdictions requiring photo IDs, voters who do not have photo ID often must have their identity verified by someone else ( ...
law he worked on while in the House of Representatives violated the 1965 Voting Rights Act. During testimony in the proceeding, Clemmons stated that he responded to an e-mail from a man named Ed Koziol saying, "Amen, Ed, thank you for your support." A portion of the email from Kozoil stated that if the legislature offered a reward for identification cards, "it would be like a swarm of bees going after a watermelon."


Views on Israel and the BDS movement

Clemmons denies that Israel has a
military occupation Military occupation, also called belligerent occupation or simply occupation, is temporary hostile control exerted by a ruling power's military apparatus over a sovereign territory that is outside of the legal boundaries of that ruling pow ...
of the
West Bank The West Bank is located on the western bank of the Jordan River and is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip) that make up the State of Palestine. A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...
, and refers to such descriptions as "the lie of occupation," writing "To suggest that the Jews are occupiers in a region that has been known as Judea for over 3000-plus years is no less ridiculous than to suggest that Arabs are occupiers in Arabia." In 2011, Clemmons wrote a pro-Israel resolution drawing inspiration from Bible verses:
Whereas, Israel has been granted her lands under and through the oldest recorded deed as reported in the Old Testament, a tome of scripture held sacred and reverenced by Jew and Christian, alike, as the acts and words of God; and Whereas, as the Grantor of said lands, God stated to the Jewish people in the Old Testament; in Leviticus, Chapter 20, Verse 24: "Ye shall inherit their land, and I will give it unto you to possess it, a land that floweth with milk and honey"; and Whereas, God has never rescinded his grant of said lands; and ... Be it resolved by the House of Representatives: That the members of the South Carolina House of Representatives, by this resolution, commend the nation of Israel for its relations with the United States of America and with the State of South Carolina.
The resolution received positive response from both Democratic and Republican legislature members in South Carolina. Israeli lawmakers, who had heard about the South Carolina resolution, invited Clemmons to speak at the
Knesset The Knesset ( , ) is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Israel. The Knesset passes all laws, elects the President of Israel, president and Prime Minister of Israel, prime minister, approves the Cabinet of Israel, cabinet, and supe ...
’s inaugural meeting of the caucus against antisemitism. In 2014, Clemmons led a group of South Carolina legislators to Israel on an economic development visit for marrying venture capital with new technologies.YONAH JEREMY BOB
HOW US STATES ARE COUNTERING THE BDS MOVEMENT AGAINST ISRAEL
Jerusalem Post, October 17, 2016.
In 2015, in response to the
Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) is a nonviolent Palestinian-led movement promoting boycotts, divestments, and economic sanctions against Israel. Its objective is to pressure Israel to meet what the BDS movement describes as Israel's o ...
(BDS) movement, Clemmons sponsored an
anti-BDS law With regard to the Arab–Israeli conflict, many supporters of the Israel, State of Israel have often advocated or implemented anti-Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions, BDS laws (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions), which effectively seek to retali ...
which prohibited public entities from doing businesses with companies that boycotts
Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
. The bill passed with strong bipartisan support. More controversially, in March, 2017 while speaking at a
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
gathering opposed to the BDS campaign, Clemmons accused
J Street J Street () is a nonprofit liberal Zionist advocacy and lobby group based in the United States whose aims include strengthening Jewish democracy in Israel, promoting a diplomatic end to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict with a two-state ...
, a pro-Israel PAC, of being anti-Semitic due to their positions on the
West Bank The West Bank is located on the western bank of the Jordan River and is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip) that make up the State of Palestine. A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...
and
Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip, also known simply as Gaza, is a small territory located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea; it is the smaller of the two Palestinian territories, the other being the West Bank, that make up the State of Palestine. I ...
(collectively, the
State of Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...
). This charge was rejected by Jewish groups spanning the political spectrum right to left.


References


External links


''New York Times'' article on Amusement Park safetyForbes.com bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clemmons, Alan D. 1958 births Republican Party members of the South Carolina House of Representatives American Mormon missionaries in Mexico Coastal Carolina University alumni Hamline University alumni American lawyers Living people Latter Day Saints from South Carolina 20th-century Mormon missionaries 21st-century members of the South Carolina General Assembly