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Created page with " {{Infobox officeholder | name=Patricia Henrichs Willis | office=Mississippi State Representative<br> for District 95 (Hancock and Harrison counties) | term_start=June 2013 |..."
{{Infobox officeholder
| name=Patricia Henrichs Willis
| office=Mississippi State Representative<br> for District 95 (Hancock and Harrison counties)
| term_start=June 2013
| term_end=
| preceded=Jessica Sibley Upshaw (died in office)
| succeeded=
| birth_date=February 27, 1953
| birth_place=[[New Orleans]], [[Louisiana]]
| citizenship=[[United States|American]]
| party=[[Republican Party|Republican]]
| spouse=Family information missing
| children=
| alma_mater=Mississippi State University<br>
Loyola University New Orleans College of Law
| occupation=[[Lawyer]]
| religion=[[Presbyterian]]
| residence=Diamondhead<br>Hancock County<br> Mississippi
}}
'''Patricia Henrichs Willis''' (born February 27, 1953) is a [[lawyer]] from Hancock County, [[Mississippi]], who is the [[Republican Party|Republican]] state representative for District 95, which encompasses Hancock and Harrison counties on the Gulf Coast.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/members/house/willis.xml
|title=Patricia Willis|publisher=Billstatus.ls.state.ms.us|accessdate=October 13, 2017}}</ref>
A native of [[New Orleans]], [[Louisiana]], Willis received a Bachelor of Science degree from Mississippi State University at Starkville and a law degree from Loyola University in New Orleans. She is a [[Presbyterian]]. She resides in Diamondhead, Mississippi, and is a member of the Republican Women's Clubs for Hancock and Harrison counties.<ref name=pvs>{{cite web|url=https://votesmart.org/candidate/biography/144496/patricia-willis#.WeEh9rpFzb0|title=Patricia Willis' Biography|publisher=Project Vote Smart|accessdate=October 13, 2017}}</ref>
In a special election held on May 28, 2013, Willis defeated three opponents to claim the District 95 House seat. She received 52.5 percent of the ballots cast. <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sos.ms.gov/links/elections/2013/SE13%20House%2095%20Results.pdf|title=Election Returns|date=May 28, 2013|publisher=Mississippi Secretary of State|accessdate=October 13, 2017}}</ref>The seat was vacated by the death of the Republican incumbent, Jessica Sibley Upshaw (1959-2013), also an attorney from Diamondhead. Upshaw suffered from depression and committed suicide at the home of a boyfriend.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.seacoastecho.com/news/exec/view.pl?archive=12&num=6789#.WeEp_bpFzb0|title=Upshaw's death an apparent suicide|author=Jennifer Lenain|date=March 26, 2013|publisher=Seacoastecho.com|accessdate=October 13, 2017}}</ref>
In the 2015 [[primary]] and [[general election]], Willis ran without opposition.<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 13, 2017}}</ref>
Willis serves on these House committees: (1) Drug Policy (chairman), (2) Corrections, (3) Gaming, (4) Judiciary B, (5) Marine Resources, (6) Military Affairs, (7) Ports, Harbors, and Airports, and (8) Tourism.<ref name=pvs/> In 2014, Representative Willis co-sponsored the legislation to restrict [[abortion]]s in Mississippi to twenty weeks of gestation. In 2015, she voted to permit "wrongful death" lawsuits regarding the unborn. In 2016, she voted against dismemberment abortions in the state. She supported the expansion of exemptions for compulsory school vaccinations. She voted to grant civil and criminal immunity to those reporting what they believe are instances of [[terrorism]]. She voted to permit churches to have designated personnel with firearms for the overall protection of the congregation. She backed the bill to guarantee within Mississippi protections for religious beliefs and matters of moral conscience. In 2017, she supported the legislation which authorizes additional methods of execution in Mississippi and co-sponsored the measure to classify the killing of first responders as first-degree [[murder]]. She did not vote on the issue of increasing identification requirement for [[Medicaid]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://votesmart.org/candidate/key-votes/144496/patricia-willis#.WeEn5LpFzb0|title=Patricia Willis' Voting Records|publisher=Project Vote Smart|accessdate=October 13, 2017}}</ref>
==See also==
Other Mississippi Republican state House members:
*[[William Tracy Arnold]]
*[[Dana Criswell]]
*[[Steve Hopkins]]
*[[Trey Lamar]]
*[[Shane Aguirre]]
*[[Jeff Hale]]
*[[Dan Eubanks]]
*[[Robert Foster]]
*[[Ashley Henley]]
*[[Rob Roberson]]
*[[Karl Oliver]]
*[[Bill Kinkade]]
*[[Vince Mangold]]
*[[Brent Powell]]
*[[Cory Wilson]]
*[[William Shirley]]
*[[Shane Barnett]]
*[[Chris Johnson]]
*[[Noah Sanford]]
*[[Timmy Ladner]]
*[[Brad Touchstone]]
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Willis, Patricia}}
[[Category:Mississippi]]
[[Category:Louisiana People]]
[[Category:Lawyers]]
[[Category:Politicians]]
[[Category:Republicans]]
[[Category:Conservatives]]
[[Category:Presbyterians]]
[[Category:Pro-life]]