RoseMarie Swanger
Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives
from the 102nd district
In office
January 2, 2007[1] – November 12, 2014[2]
Preceded byPeter J. Zug
Succeeded byRuss Diamond
Personal details
Born (1945-10-31) October 31, 1945
Lebanon, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
SpouseLeonard[3]
Children1[3]
Residence(s)Jonestown, Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, U.S.[3]
Alma materSouth Lebanon High School
Websitewww.repswanger.com

RoseMarie Swanger (born October 31, 1945) is an American politician and former member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from the 102nd District. A Republican, she was first elected in 2006 and served until 2014.

Early life and education

Swanger was born on October 31, 1945, in Lebanon, Pennsylvania. She graduated from South Lebanon High School in 1963, and later attended the Thompson Institute and Lebanon Valley College.[4]

Political career

Swanger worked as a clerk in the mayor's office of Lebanon, Pennsylvania, from 1966 through 1972. She later worked as assistant city clerk from 1972 through 1974, and as city clerk for Lebanon from 1974 through 1984.[5] She served as a county commissioner in Lebanon County from 1984 through 2004.[4]

Pennsylvania House of Representatives

Swanger defeated incumbent Pennsylvania State Representative Peter Zug in the 2006 Republican primary following Zug's support for the controversial 2005 legislative pay raise. She later won the general election to represent the 102nd District.[6] Swanger won re-election in 2008, 2010, and 2012.[4] In 2014, Swanger announced she would not seek re-election.[6]

Anti-Sharia bill

In 2011, Swanger introduced HB 2029, a bill which would prohibit courts from "consider[ing] a foreign legal code or system" that lacks "the same fundamental liberties" as the Pennsylvania Constitution and U.S. Constitution.[7] In a letter to her Republican colleagues, Swanger claimed, "Increasingly, foreign laws and legal doctrines -- including and especially Shariah law -- are finding their way into U.S. court cases. Invoking Shariah law, especially in family law cases, is a means of imposing an agenda on the American people."[8] Her bill, based upon a model written by anti-Sharia activist David Yerushalmi,[9] was seen as "Islamophobic" and part of the wider anti-Sharia movement in the United States.[7][10] In addition to Islamic leaders,[11] Jewish and Catholic leaders questioned whether the bill would also compromise elements of their religious code and liberties.[9][12] In response, the Pittsburgh City Council passed a unanimous resolution condemning HB 2029.[11] Swanger's bill ultimately failed to make it past committee in the State House.[13] Her reintroduction of the bill in 2014 was met with similar results.[14]

References

  1. ↑ "SESSION OF 2007 191ST OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY No. 1" (PDF). LEGISLATIVE JOURNAL. Pennsylvania House of Representatives. 2007-01-02. Retrieved 2009-01-09.
  2. ↑ "SESSION OF 2014 198TH OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY No. 69" (PDF). Legislative Journal. Pennsylvania House of Representatives. November 12, 2014. p. 7. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 "Biography". State Representative RoseMarie Swanger. Archived from the original on February 19, 2013. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 "RoseMarie Swanger". Pennsylvania House of Representatives Archives. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  5. ↑ "Representative Rosemarie Swanger (PA)". Project Vote Smart. 2008. Retrieved 2009-01-09.
  6. 1 2 Murphy, Jan (January 8, 2014). "Rep. RoseMarie Swanger announces her plans to step down from her state House seat". PennLIVE Patriot-News. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  7. 1 2 Matza, Michael (December 15, 2011). "Pa. bill attacked as being 'Islamophobic'". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  8. ↑ "Critics call Pa. bill attack on Shariah". UPI. December 15, 2011. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  9. 1 2 Rodgers, Ann (December 12, 2011). "Proposed state law draws religious criticism". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  10. ↑ Tankle, Lee (October 2012). "The Only Thing We Have to Fear is Fear Itself: Islamophobia and the Recently Proposed Unconstitutional and Unnecessary Anti-Religion Laws". William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal. 21 (1). Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  11. 1 2 Brode, Noah (March 6, 2012). "'Anti-Sharia' Bill Blasted as Unconstitutional, Prejudicial". 90.5 WESA. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  12. ↑ Tabachnick, Toby (December 29, 2011). "Jewish leaders brand anti-Sharia bill discriminatory". Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  13. ↑ "Regular Session 2011-2012 House Bill 2029". Pennsylvania General Assembly. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  14. ↑ "Regular Session 2013-2014 House Bill 2168". Pennsylvania General Assembly. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
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