Dan Laughlin | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of the Pennsylvania Senate from the 49th district | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2017 | |
| Preceded by | Sean Wiley |
| Personal details | |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Peggy |
| Residence | Millcreek Township,Erie County,Pennsylvania |
| Alma mater | Penn State Behrend (attended) |
Dan Laughlin is a Pennsylvania politician. A Republican,he is the Pennsylvania State Senator for the 49th district. Before his election to the State Senate in 2016,Laughlin worked as a homebuilder. [1]
In August 2022,Laughlin sued the chair of the Erie County Democratic Party,Jim Wertz,as well as the alternative newspaper the Erie Reader ,after the Reader published an op-ed written by Wertz which claimed Laughlin was on a presidential pardon request list for those involved in attempts to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election. In the op-ed,Wertz referenced a letter by Congressman Mo Brooks,which said the Congressman had asked then-President Donald Trump for pardons for those who signed "the" amicus brief in the case Texas v. Pennsylvania ,which sought to overturn Trump's loss in the 2020 presidential election. Wertz also accused Congressman Mike Kelly of being on the same "pardon request list" as Laughlin. In Texas,Kelly and Laughlin signed separate briefs. The brief Laughlin signed stated the signatories were not supporting the plaintiff nor defendant. Laughlin's lawsuit also contended there was never an actual "pardon request list." [2] The lawsuit would reveal private communications where Laughlin referred to legal efforts to alter the election result as "crap." He also blamed Kelly for "hurting" the Republican Party by supporting such efforts. [3] The incurred court costs led to the bankruptcy of the Reader. [4]
In June 2024,the Reader sued McLaughlin and his wife,Peggy,accusing the couple of removing hundreds of free copies of the publication from public locations. [5] His wife admitted to removing papers to "prevent maybe somebody from reading all of the ridiculous,unjustified,completely dishonest,unprovoked attacks on my husband." The Reader's suit was dismissed in August. [4]
Laughlin was the first Pennsylvania Republican to endorse the legalization of adult-use cannabis in Pennsylvania. [6] In 2021,Laughlin and State Senator Sharif Street sponsored a bill to legalize cannabis use for individuals over the age of twenty-one. He and Street had previously sponsored a similar bill in 2019. [7] Laughlin said his support for such a bill came from concern for Pennsylvanians consuming unregulated cannabis from out of state. [8]
Laughlin voted for House Bill 1024 in the 2020-2021 legislative session,which permitted medical marijuana companies to remediate product and use additional pesticides among other provisions,but voted against the home grow amendment,Amendment No. A-2029,introduced by Senator Shariff Street in association with House Bill 1024. [9] [10] Since that vote,Laughlin introduced Senate Bill 869 to permit registered medical patients to grow up to six plants,similar to the amendment he previously voted against in connection with House Bill 1024. [11] There has not been any vote or action on Senate Bill 869,although the Pennsylvania Senate held a committee vote on three other cannabis bills intended to benefit the existing medical marijuana companies that operate in Pennsylvania. [12]
Laughlin is a longtime supporter of open primary elections. [13]
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Earl LeRoy "Buddy" Carter is an American pharmacist and politician serving as the U.S. representative for Georgia's 1st congressional district since 2015. The district is based in Savannah and includes most of the state's coastal southern portion. A member of the Republican Party,Carter served as a Georgia state representative (2005–2009) and Georgia state senator (2009–2014).
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Initiative 59 was a 1998 ballot initiative in Washington,D.C.,that sought to legalize medical cannabis. The short title of the initiative was "Legalization of Marijuana for Medical Treatment Initiative of 1998". Though the initiative passed with 69% of the vote in November 1998,its implementation was delayed by Congress's passage of the Barr Amendment,which prohibited DC from using its funds in support of the program. This Amendment delayed the start of the medical marijuana program until it was effectively overturned in 2009,with the first DC customer legally purchasing medical cannabis at a dispensary in the District in 2013.
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Cannabis in Minnesota is legal for recreational use since August 2023. Governor Tim Walz signed House File 100 on May 30,2023,legalizing the use,possession,and cultivation of cannabis within the state. The state's new Office of Cannabis Management will establish a regulatory framework for commercial cultivation and sales,with exceptions for tribal nations.
Giovanni M. "John" DiSanto is an American politician from Pennsylvania currently serving as a Republican member of the Pennsylvania State Senator for the 15th district since 2017. His district is based in the state capital of Harrisburg.
Sharif Street is an American politician and attorney. He is a Democratic member of the Pennsylvania State Senate who has represented the 3rd district since 2017. In 2018,Street was elected Vice-Chair of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party under Chairwoman Nancy Patton Mills of Allegheny County,and was elected Chair of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party on June 18,2022,the first person of color to fill that role.
Scott Martin is an American politician from Pennsylvania who has been a Republican member of the Pennsylvania State Senate for the 13th district since January 3,2017. He was previously a two-term Lancaster county commissioner and chairman of the Pennsylvania Republican County Commissioners Caucus. Martin is married to Amber Martin and they have four children. After a six-month exploratory committee,on December 11,2021,Martin announced his intention to seek the office of governor of Pennsylvania. He suspended his gubernatorial bid on February 11,2022,because of complications from a broken leg and other injuries suffered in an accident,resulting in surgery.
Timothy Ivan Melson is an American politician and physician. A member of the Republican Party,he serves in the Alabama State Senate,representing its 1st district since 2014.
The Strengthening the Tenth Amendment Through Entrusting States (STATES) Act was a bill proposed in the 115th United States Congress that would recognize legalization of cannabis and the U.S. state laws that have legalized it through their legislatures or citizen initiative. It was introduced on June 7,2018,by Senators Cory Gardner and Elizabeth Warren. A companion bill was introduced the same day in the House of Representatives,sponsored by Earl Blumenauer and David Joyce. The act would amend the Controlled Substances Act of 1970 to exempt from federal enforcement individuals or corporations in states who are in compliance with U.S. state,U.S. territory and the District of Columbia,or tribal law on cannabis,with certain additional provisions such as minimum ages. The banking provisions of the STATES Act have been reintroduced as the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act of 2019 in the 116th U.S. Congress by Ed Perlmutter in the House,and by Jeff Merkley in the Senate. As of September 18,2019,the House bill had 206 cosponsors,and the Senate bill had 33 cosponsors.
