Thelma Harper (politician)

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Thelma Harper (born December 2nd, 1940) is an American politician and a Democratic member of the Tennessee Senate for the 19th district, which is composed of part of Davidson County. ^[1]

[edit] Education and career

Thelma Harper has served as a state senator since the 96th Tennessee General Assembly. She is the chair of the Senate Government Operations Committee and a member of the Senate State and Local Government Committee, the Senate Correction Oversight Committee, and the Select Joint Committee on Children and Youth.^[1]

For eight years Thelma Harper served as a member of the Nashville/Davidson County Metropolitan Council. She was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1980, 1984, 1988, and 1992. She currently serves as a board member for the Nashville Downtown Partnership, an anti-homeless organization. She possesses a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration/Accounting from Tennessee State University.^[1]

[edit] Political views and proposals

In 2004, when asked by The Tennessean whether the Tennessee state constitution should be changed to say the right to an abortion is not guaranteed, she replied that the issue should not be written into the state constitution.^[2] Thelma Harper was one of only two state senators that did not vote for Tennessee not to recognize homosexual marriages, instead choosing to abstain.^[3] Thelma Harper proposed legislation that would rename U.S. Highway 41 as Rosa Parks Boulevard,^[4] which was later successfully passed in both the House and the Senate. ^[5]