Larry Grooms
Member of the South Carolina Senate
from the 37th district
Assumed office
November 4, 1997
Preceded byDeWitt Williams[1]
Personal details
Born (1964-03-20) March 20, 1964
Moncks Corner, South Carolina, USA
Political partyRepublican

Lawrence K. "Larry" Grooms (born March 20, 1964) is a Republican member of the South Carolina Senate, representing the 37th District. He has served as the Chairman 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.[2]

Career

Senator Grooms speaks at the signing of S.1, "The Heartbeat Bill", for which he was the primary sponsor. He is joined by the Governor of South Carolina, Henry McMaster, and the Lieutenant Governor, Pamela Evette.

After college, Grooms started a convenience store, which he successfully expanded into a chain of gas stations throughout the South Carolina Lowcountry.[3] 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.[4] In May 2009, Grooms announced his candidacy for Governor of South Carolina in the 2010 gubernational election but ended his campaign in January 2010.[5] He founded the South Carolina Legislative Prayer Caucus in 2016 and has served as chairman since.[2]

Grooms is firmly opposed to same-sex marriage.[6] He is also staunchly anti-abortion[7] and in December 2020 filed a heartbeat bill prohibiting abortions after six weeks gestational age. Planned Parenthood 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.[2]

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 principles into the delivery of educational service."[8] 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, Declaration of Independence, and Federalist Papers.[9]

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.[10] In a later interview, Grooms qualified his answer, saying, "If the allegations are proved to be true, it would be a different story."

In June 2023, Grooms endorsed Tim Scott in the 2024 United States presidential election.[11]

Personal life

Grooms, his wife Carol, and their three sons live in Bonneau, South Carolina. He is a life member of the National Association of Texaco and Shell Marketers and the National Rifle Association of America.[2]

Notes and references

  1. ↑ "Lawrence Grooms".
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Senator Lawrence K. "Larry" Grooms". South Carolina Legislative Services Agency. Archived from the original on 2023-03-23. Retrieved 2023-03-22.
  3. ↑ "Larry Grooms | Meet Your Senator". Larry Grooms. Retrieved 2022-05-07.
  4. ↑ "The Voter's Self Defense System".
  5. ↑ "Larry Grooms dropping out of SC governor's race". Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2010-01-25.
  6. ↑ "Candidates in SC1 Spar over Gay Marriage - Columbia, SC Patch". Archived from the original on 2013-04-11. Retrieved 2013-03-14.
  7. ↑ @jslovegrove (February 18, 2021). ""500,000 little boys and girls have lost their lives in South Carolina since 1970," says @larrygrooms, the bill's sponsor. "In just a few moments, we're about to do something I spent a quarter of a century trying to do, that is to shut down the abortion industry in this state."" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  8. ↑ Ellis, Rachel (March 19, 2021). "Public education advocates skeptical of bill expanding South Carolina 'school choice'". ABC News 4. Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. Archived from the original on March 19, 2021. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
  9. ↑ Kauffman, Julia (April 13, 2021). "SC universities may soon require a class on the U.S. Constitution". News 19. Tegna Inc. WLTX-TV. Retrieved August 27, 2021.
  10. ↑ Byrd, Caitlin (November 24, 2017). "South Carolina lawmaker Larry Groom: 'I stand with Roy Moore'". postandcourier.com. The Post and Courier. Archived from the original on November 24, 2017. Retrieved November 25, 2017. A Berkeley County lawmaker on Thursday gave his support to Republican Roy Moore despite allegations of sexual assault and misconduct that have surfaced during Moore's Alabama Senate run.
  11. ↑ Sen. Tim Scott in Spartanburg to announce campaign endorsements". FOX Carolina. June 12, 2023. Retrieved August 22, 2023.
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