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, 21:38, September 10, 2012
'''Jefferson Rowe Thompson,''' known as '''Jeff R. Thompson''' (born c. 1964), is a lawyer in Bossier City, [[Louisiana]], and a [[Republican]] member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from District 8, a position that he assumed in January 2012.
Thompson was elected to the House in 2011, when the term-limited incumbent, fellow Republican[Jane H. Smith, also of Bossier City, ran instead, unsuccessfully, for the Louisiana State Senate. Thompson defeated fellow Republican, Duke Lowrie, 4,991 (56.8 percent) to 3,803 (43.3 percent).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://staticresults.sos.la.gov/10222011/10222011_Legislative.html|title=Election returns, October 22, 2011|publisher=staticresults.sos.la.gov|accessdate=May 15, 2012}}</ref>Smith, meanwhile, was defeated by the Republican businessman [[Barrow Peacock]] of [[Shreveport]] for the Senate seat vacated by Republican B. L. "Buddy" Shaw, who like Smith is a former educator.
In 2008, Thompson was an unsuccessful candidate for the [[United States House of Representatives]] from Louisiana's 4th congressional district. The seat opened when the incumbent Jim McCrery stepped down to become a [[lobbyist]]. Thompson ran third in the primary, and the position eventually went to the Republican physician and businessman [[John Fleming]] of [[Minden, Louisiana|Minden]].
In the spring of 2012, Representative Thompson worked to kill an anti-bullying bill sponsored by Patricia Smith, a [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]] from [[Baton Rouge]] . [[Conservative]] opponents to the legislation claimed that the measure is at odds with freedom of speech rulings by the United States [[Supreme Court]]. Thompson offered an amendment, which removed those sections of the bill that specify prohibitions against bullying in regard to sexual orientation, disabilities, and race. Smith said that the Thompson amendment effectively killed the focus of the legislation, and she withdrew it from further consideration.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://theadvocate.com/home/2606631-125/changes-doom-bullying-proposaltitle=Will Sentell, "Changes doom bullying proposal," May 1, 2012|publisher=''Baton Rouge Morning Advocate''|accessdate=May 15, 2012}}</ref>
==References==
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[[Category:Louisiana]]
[[Category:Politicians]]
[[Category:Lawyers]]
[[Category:Republican Party]]