Sylvia Delores Miller Horton, known as Dodie Horton (born December 6, 1956), is a Republican from Haughton,

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

, who is the state representative for District 9 in Bossier Parish in the northwestern corner of her state. In January 2016, Horton succeeded Henry Burns of Bossier City, who left the House seat to seek the District 36 position in the

Louisiana State Senate The Louisiana State Senate (; ) is the upper house of Louisiana’s legislature. Senators serve four-year terms and participate in various committees. Composition The Louisiana State Senate has 39 members elected from single-member districts ...

. Horton had been Burns' legislative assistant since he entered the House in 2008. In the primary election held on October 24, 2015, Horton handily defeated a single opponent, fellow Republican Mike McHalffey (born March 1959) of Benton, 4,584 votes (63.8 percent) to 2,602 (36.2 percent), for the right to succeed Burns.

Career

On June 8, 2017, Democratic state Senator Karen Carter Peterson of

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

shouted an obscenity at Representative Horton after Horton asked a group of senators present on the House floor to stop talking so that the budget proceedings being considered could be heard. Peterson later apologized for her verbal attack. The House voted in May 2019 to roll back a sales tax hike of 0.45 percent that was scheduled to expire in 2025, but Horton said that she was pessimistic about the tax being reduced because so many Republicans in the state Senate are not

conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilizati ...

. "Not all Republicans are equal," she said. In March 2022, Horton authored House Bill 837 that would punish schools, teachers and administrators for discussing any topics in classrooms that related to LGBTQ American individuals, their lives and their families. Horton stated that "my bill is an attempt to protect our most innocent from indoctrination of any kind." Horton went on to claim that sexual orientation is a choice. In 2023, Horton authored HB8 which requires public schools to display the national motto of "In God We Trust" inside of all classrooms. The bill was signed by Governor John Bel Edwards in June 2023. In 2024, Horton voted in favor of advancing House Bill 545 from the Administration of Criminal Justice committee. The bill, filed by Republican Beryl Amedee, would remove legal protections for obscenity from teachers and librarians in all Louisiana public schools. In 2024, Horton pushed for House Bill 71, requiring the

Ten Commandments The Ten Commandments (), or the Decalogue (from Latin , from Ancient Greek , ), are religious and ethical directives, structured as a covenant document, that, according to the Hebrew Bible, were given by YHWH to Moses. The text of the Ten ...

to be displayed in all Louisiana public schools. The bill was signed into law June 18, 2024, by Governor

Jeff Landry Jeffrey Martin Landry ( ; born December 23, 1970) is an American politician and attorney who has served as the 57th governor of Louisiana since 2024. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 45th attorney general of Louisiana from 201 ...

. Within hours after its signing the law was challenged by four civil liberties groups.

Personal life

Horton and her husband, Gary Lynn Horton (born November 1953), married in 1976. They have three daughters. She is

Southern Baptist The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), alternatively the Great Commission Baptists (GCB), is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist organization, the largest Protestantism in the United States, Pr ...

. Horton has a high school education.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Horton, Dodie 1956 births Living people People from Haughton, Louisiana Louisiana Republicans Republican Party members of the Louisiana House of Representatives 21st-century members of the Louisiana State Legislature Women state legislators in Louisiana Women in Louisiana politics Baptists from Louisiana Place of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American women politicians