Larry Grooms

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Larry Grooms
Larry Grooms publicity shot.jpg
Member of the South Carolina Senate
from the 37th district
Assumed office
1997
Preceded byDeWitt Williams[1]
Personal details
Born (1964-03-20) March 20, 1964 (age 57)
Moncks Corner, South Carolina
Political partyRepublican
Spouse(s)Carol Grooms
ProfessionBusinessman

Lawrence K. "Larry" Grooms (born March 20, 1964) is a Republican member of the South Carolina Senate, representing the 37th District. He serves as the Chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee, a post he has held since 2007.

Personal life[]

Grooms grew up in the small town of St. Stephen, South Carolina and after graduating from high school went on to receive a degree from Clemson University. He is married to Carol Grooms and is the father of three boys, Taylor, Hayden, and Jack. Currently, Senator Grooms resides in Bonneau, South Carolina.

Early career[]

After college, Grooms started a convenience store business, which he successfully expanded into a chain of gas stations throughout low-country South Carolina.[citation needed]

Political career[]

Grooms was first elected to the State Senate in 1997 as a Republican, and has maintained a strongly conservative voting record throughout his tenure.[2]

Senator Grooms is staunchly anti-abortion and in December 2020, filed Senate Bill 1, "The Heartbeat Bill," which prohibits abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected.[3] Planned Parenthood and others sued the State of South Carolina over the newly enacted law, and a preliminary injunction was issued the next day.[4] In recognition of his efforts, Senator Grooms has been named Pro-Life Legislator of the Year by South Carolina Citizens for Life twice, in 2012 and in 2016.[5]

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.

Grooms is an advocate for school choice. He voted in support of a 2021 bill to establish "Schools of Innovation", which receive students irrespective of their places of residence. "This is bringing a little bit of free market principles into the delivery of educational service. So, a School of Innovation can do something different," he said. [6]

Grooms's bill, the REACH Act, became law in the spring of 2021. It requires public high school and universities to instruct students on America's founding documents, including the Constitution, Declaration of Independence, and Federalist Papers. "Somehow or another we got off course. Our public colleges shied away from teaching the Constitution and Declaration and what they mean. And it needs to be taught, it’s important," Senator Grooms said.[7]

He firmly opposes same-sex marriage.[8]

During a November 24, 2017, exchange with a constituent on Facebook, Grooms affirmed his support for Roy Moore's Alabama Senate campaign despite Moore's sexual abuse allegations.[9] During that exchange, Grooms said "I stand with Roy Moore," when asked to comment on the sexual allegations. In a later interview, Grooms qualified his answer, saying, "If the allegations are proved to be true, it would be a different story."

2010 Gubernatorial Candidacy[]

In May 2009, Grooms announced his candidacy for the Governor of South Carolina in the 2010 South Carolina gubernatorial election. In January 2010, he ended his campaign.[10]

Notes and References[]

  1. ^ https://ballotpedia.org/Lawrence_Grooms
  2. ^ [1]
  3. ^ "Twitter Post". Retrieved 2021-08-06.
  4. ^ "Twitter Post". Retrieved 2021-08-06.
  5. ^ "SC Statehouse Member Page". scstatehouse.gov. Retrieved 2021-08-06.
  6. ^ Ellis, Rachel (March 19, 2021). "Public education advocates skeptical of bill expanding South Carolina 'school choice'". ABC News 4. Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-04-11. Retrieved 2013-03-14.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. ^ Byrd, Caitlin (November 24, 2017). "South Carolina lawmaker Larry Groom: 'I stand with Roy Moore'". postandcourier.com. The Post and Courier. 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.
  10. ^ "Larry Grooms dropping out of SC governor's race". Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2010-01-25.

External links[]

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