Changes

| office=Mississippi State Senator<br> for District 30 (Rankin County)

| office=Mississippi State Senator<br> for District 30 (Rankin County)

| term_start=January 1992

| term_start=January 1992

| term_end=

| term_end=2014

| preceded=Unavailable 

| preceded=Unavailable 

| succeeded=[[Charles Younger]] 

| succeeded=[[Charles Younger]] 

Kirby was chairman of the Rankin County Republican Party organization in 1977. He was first elected to the state Senate in November 1991, when Kirk Fordice became Mississippi's first Republican [[governor]] since [[Reconstruction]]. In his most recent general elections in 2011 and 2015, he ran without opposition.<ref name=ballotpedia>{{cite web|url=https://ballotpedia.org/Dean_Kirby|title=Dean Kirby|publisher=Ballotpedia.org|accessdate=October 16, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sos.ms.gov/Elections-Voting/Pages/2015-General-Election.aspx|title=General election returns|date=November 3, 2015|publisher=Mississippi Secretary of State|accessdate=October 17, 2017}}</ref>  

Kirby was chairman of the Rankin County Republican Party organization in 1977. He was first elected to the state Senate in November 1991, when Kirk Fordice became Mississippi's first Republican [[governor]] since [[Reconstruction]]. In his most recent general elections in 2011 and 2015, he ran without opposition.<ref name=ballotpedia>{{cite web|url=https://ballotpedia.org/Dean_Kirby|title=Dean Kirby|publisher=Ballotpedia.org|accessdate=October 16, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sos.ms.gov/Elections-Voting/Pages/2015-General-Election.aspx|title=General election returns|date=November 3, 2015|publisher=Mississippi Secretary of State|accessdate=October 17, 2017}}</ref>  

Kirby chairs the Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee and is vice chairman of the Finance Committee. He also sits on these committees: (1)   Corrections, (2) Highways and Transportation, (3) Housing, (4) Insurance, (5) Interstate and Federal Cooperation, and Judiciary A.<ref name=pvs/>

Kirby chaired the Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee and is vice chairman of the Finance Committee. He also sits on these committees: (1)   Corrections, (2) Highways and Transportation, (3) Housing, (4) Insurance, (5) Interstate and Federal Cooperation, and Judiciary A.<ref name=pvs/>

In 2008 and again in 2012, Senator Kirby voted to require photo identification as a prerequisite to voting in Mississippi. In 2009, he voted to hike the cigarette tax. In 2010, he co-sponsored the establishment of [[charter school]]s in the state. In 2011, he voted to restrict employers in the hiring of [[illegal alien]]s. In 2013, he voted to require a physician's approval for the dispensing of [[abortion]] prescriptions. In 2014, he voted to prohibit crisis pregnancy centers from advocating abortion and to forbid abortions in Mississippi after twenty weeks of gestation of the unborn. In 2016, Kirby voted to prohibit state funds to the large abortion provider, [[Planned Parenthood]]. He supported the bill to guarantee within Mississippi protections for religious beliefs and matters of moral conscience. In 2017, he co-sponsored the prohibition against local governments pursuing [[sanctuary city]] policies. He supported the legislation which authorizes additional methods of execution in Mississippi and co-sponsored the measure to declare as a [[hate crime]] the targeting of law-enforcement officers by the lawless element. He voted to retain a private contractor to audit [[Medicaid]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://votesmart.org/candidate/key-votes/3609/dean-kirby#.WeYzC7pFzb0|title=Dean Kirby's Voting Records|publisher=Project Vote Smart|accessdate=October 16, 2017}}</ref>

In 2008 and again in 2012, Senator Kirby voted to require photo identification as a prerequisite to voting in Mississippi. In 2009, he voted to hike the cigarette tax. In 2010, he co-sponsored the establishment of [[charter school]]s in the state. In 2011, he voted to restrict employers in the hiring of [[illegal alien]]s. In 2013, he voted to require a physician's approval for the dispensing of [[abortion]] prescriptions. In 2014, he voted to prohibit crisis pregnancy centers from advocating abortion and to forbid abortions in Mississippi after twenty weeks of gestation of the unborn. In 2016, Kirby voted to prohibit state funds to the large abortion provider, [[Planned Parenthood]]. He supported the bill to guarantee within Mississippi protections for religious beliefs and matters of moral conscience. In 2017, he co-sponsored the prohibition against local governments pursuing [[sanctuary city]] policies. He supported the legislation which authorizes additional methods of execution in Mississippi and co-sponsored the measure to declare as a [[hate crime]] the targeting of law-enforcement officers by the lawless element. He voted to retain a private contractor to audit [[Medicaid]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://votesmart.org/candidate/key-votes/3609/dean-kirby#.WeYzC7pFzb0|title=Dean Kirby's Voting Records|publisher=Project Vote Smart|accessdate=October 16, 2017}}</ref>