Elaine J. Morgan
Member of the Rhode Island Senate
from the 34th[1] district
Assumed office
January 2015[2]
Preceded byCatherine Cool Rumsey
Personal details
NationalityAmerican
Political partyRepublican
SpouseEdward Morgan

Elaine J. Morgan is an American politician and a Republican member of the Rhode Island Senate representing District 34 since January 2015. She was the senate minority whip from June 2019 to January 2021. She was the first woman elected to be a Hopkinton town sergeant, serving for three terms before her election.

Rhode Island Senate

Morgan was the first woman elected to be the town sergeant of Hopkinton, Rhode Island, and she served for three terms in the position before being elected to the Rhode Island Senate.[2] In November 2014, she was elected as a Republican member of the Rhode Island Senate, representing District 34 (which includes Charlestown, Exeter, Hopkinton, Richmond, West Greenwich).[2]

In 2015, Politico reported that Morgan had sent an email to other state senators calling for Syrian refugees to be placed in "a refugee camp to keep them segregated from our populous [sic]" and stating that "The Muslim religion and philosophy is to murder, rape, and decapitate anyone who is a non Muslim."[3][4] She told television station WPRI that the latter statement was intended to be directed at only "the fanatical Muslim religion and philosophy", but she maintained the idea that Syrian refugees should be kept in camps.[3][4]

Morgan proposed a bill during the 2017 legislative session requiring the mandatory instruction of cursive in public schools for first through sixth grade.[5] She was the only person to vote nay against two successful gun-control bills in the 2018 session – a bump stock ban and a red flag bill giving police more power in removing guns from people shown to be dangerous – because she was unable to find protections for children in the red flag bill.[6] The lead co-sponsor of the bill, Maryellen Goodwin, said in response that the bill was intended to protect "everyone ... Adults, children, you name it."[6]

Morgan was the senate minority whip from June 2019 to January 2021.[2] In 2019, legislators passed a bill that would protect the right to abortion in the state in the situation that Roe v. Wade is overturned by the Supreme Court; among other amendments to the bill proposed by Republicans, the Senate voted against an amendment by Morgan to make the bill effective only if Roe v. Wade was overturned.[7] In 2022, she introduced a bill targeting transgender people in sports that would "categorize women by their biological identity at birth rather than their gender identity for purposes of organized sports."[8] The bill was criticized by the recently formed Rhode Island Queer Political Action Committee.[8] The Rhode Island Board of Elections issued a $1,200 fine to Morgan later that year for misreporting campaign contributions between the first quarters of 2020 and 2022.[9]

Personal life

She was married to the late Edward Morgan.[2] They had two children, Samantha and Ian.[2] In 2021, her son Ian, who was 18 years old at the time, was charged with sexual assault on a minor.[10]

References

  1. ↑ "Elaine J. Morgan". Providence, Rhode Island: Rhode Island Senate. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Senator Elaine J. Morgan". Providence, Rhode Island: Rhode Island Senate. Retrieved October 28, 2023.
  3. 1 2 Collins, Eliza (November 18, 2015). "Rhode Island state senator: Put Syrian refugees in camps". Politico. Retrieved October 29, 2023.
  4. 1 2 Nesi, Ted (November 18, 2015). "State senator joins calls to keep Syrian refugees out of RI". Providence, Rhode Island: WPRI-TV. Retrieved October 29, 2023.
  5. ↑ "New bill would make teaching cursive mandatory in R.I. schools". The Providence Journal. Associated Press. March 31, 2017. Retrieved October 29, 2023.
  6. 1 2 Gregg, Katherine (May 24, 2018). "Bump stock ban, red-flag law sail through Senate". The Providence Journal. Retrieved October 29, 2023.
  7. ↑ Fitzpatrick, Edward (June 19, 2019). "Rhode Island latest state to pass a bill protecting abortion rights". The Boston Globe. Retrieved October 31, 2023.
  8. 1 2 Fitzpatrick, Edward (March 24, 2022). "Rhode Island Queer PAC blasts local version of 'Don't Say Gay' bill". The Boston Globe. Retrieved October 29, 2023.
  9. ↑ Gregg, Katherine (July 25, 2022). "2 Republican state senators fined for campaign-finance violations". The Providence Journal. Retrieved October 29, 2023.
  10. ↑ Muñoz, Carlos R. (March 3, 2021). "Son of Rhode Island Senator Elaine Morgan charged with sexual assault on a minor". The Boston Globe. Retrieved October 29, 2023.
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