Mark Obenshain
Mark Obenshain | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Virginia Senate from the 26th district | |
| In office August 2004 – January 12, 2014 | |
| Preceded by | Kevin G. Miller |
| Personal details | |
| Born | June 11, 1962 Richmond, Virginia |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Suzanne Speas Obenshain |
| Residence | Harrisonburg, Virginia |
| Alma mater | Virginia Tech Washington and Lee University School of Law |
| Profession | Lawyer |
| Committees | Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources; Courts of Justice; Local Government; Privileges and Elections |
| Website | markobenshain.com |
Mark D. Obenshain (born June 11, 1962) is currently the Attorney General-Elect from the Commonwealth of Virginia. A Republican, he took office in 2004 as a state senator. At the 2013 state Republican convention he became the Republican nominee in the 2013 election for Attorney General of Virginia. [1]
Political career
Obenshain has accumulated a conservative voting record since his election to the Shenandoah Valley's 26th state senate district in 2003. Obenshain's 2003 victory was a lopsided 68-32% win over former Harrisonburg mayor Rodney Eagle for an open seat.
In the Senate, Obenshain is a member of the Agriculture, Conservation, and Natural Resources, Courts of Justice, Local Government, and the Privileges and Elections Committee. For fundraising and organizational purposes he is a member of the conservative Republican Senate Victory PAC. In 2007, Obenshain easily won reelection over Democrat Maxine Hope Roles 70-29 percent. Obenshain ran for re-election unopposed in 2011.
Obenshain ran as the Republican nominee for Attorney General during the 2013 and was elected by less than 1,000 votes. A recount will soon occur but it is expected that he will win this recount.
Miscarriage reporting bill
During his run for attorney general in 2013, Obenshain was criticized for a bill he introduced in 2009 which would have required women who had miscarriages without medical attendance to report it to authorities within 24 hours.[2] Obenshain explained that he introduced the bill in response to the case of a Virginia woman who threw her dead newborn baby's body into the trash, and was trying to create a bill to allow law enforcement to prosecute a woman in that circumstance. However, the legislation that emerged "was far too broad, and would have had ramifications that neither he nor the Commonwealth's attorney's office ever intended," and after being unable to resolve the problem of women potentially being prosecuted for miscarriages, he withdrew the bill and stated that he is "strongly against imposing any added burden for women who suffer a miscarriage, and that was never the intent of the legislation."[3]
The text of the bill proposed by Obenshain is as follows:
Fetal deaths; report when unattended; penalty. Requires that when a fetal death occurs without medical attendance upon the mother at or after the delivery or abortion, the mother or someone acting on her behalf, within 24 hours, report the fetal death, location of the remains, and identity of the mother to the local or state police or sheriff's department of the city or county where the fetal death occurred. The bill also specifies that no one shall remove, destroy, or otherwise dispose of any remains without the express authorization of law-enforcement officials or the medical examiner, and that a violation of this section is a Class 1 misdemeanor. [4]
Personal life
Obenshain is married to Suzanne Speas Obenshain and is a partner at the Lenhart-Obenshain law firm. Obenshain is a member of First Presbyterian Church and a former director of the Harrisonburg Rotary Club. Prior to joining the Senate, Obenshain was also a member of James Madison University's Board of Visitors and the Governor's Advisory Commission on Welfare Reform.
The Virginia Tech undergrad and Washington and Lee School of Law grad is the son of former Virginia Republican Committee Chairman Richard D. Obenshain and the brother of another past Chairman, Kate Obenshain.
References
- ^ Schmidt, Markus and Jim Nolan (2013-05-18). "Virginia GOP convention: Obenshain nominee for AG". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved 2013-05-18.
- ^ McDonough, Katie (May 20, 2013). "GOP attorney general candidate tried to force women to report miscarriages to police". Salon.
- ^ Mark Obenshain, Virginia Attorney General Candidate, Explains Controversial Miscarriage Bill
- ^ [1]
External links
- Mark Obenshain for Attorney General
- Senator Mark D. Obenshain at the Senate of Virginia
- Template:GovLinks
- Mark D Obenshain at the Virginia Public Access Project
- Senator Mark Obenshain (R-Harrisonburg) at Sunlight Richmond