Gerald Allen

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Gerald Allen

Gerald H. Allen (born February 8, 1950 in Tuscaloosa) is the owner of Cashco Marketing, and a politician who has represented District 21 (Lamar County, Pickens County and Tuscaloosa County) in the Alabama State Senate since 2010. He currently serves as chair of the Senate Transportation and Energy committee and as vice-chair of the Finance and Taxation General Fund committee.

Allen earned a bachelor of science in education at the University of Alabama in 1973 and began his career as a coach for Tuscaloosa County Schools. He left to become director of athletics for the Tuscaloosa County Parks & Recreation Authority in 1976 and held that position for two years. He founded Cascho Marketing, which he operates from his home in Cottondale, in 1980.

Allen has also served as a deacon for Gilgal Baptist Church in Duncanville, as a booster for Holt High School athletics, and as a member of the West Alabama Chamber of Commerce and Citizen Club.

Allen was first elected to the Alabama House of Representatives in District 62 as a Democrat in 1994, but switched to the Republican Party in 1995. He sponsored a bill in the House in 2005 which would have banned public school libraries from purchasing books by gay authors or with gay characters. The bill died without a vote.

In the 2010 general election Allen defeated incumbent Democrat Phil Poole for the Alabama State Senate District 21 seat. In 2011 he sponsored a bill to ban Sharia law in the state and co-sponsored the Beason-Hammon Alabama Taxpayer and Citizen Protection Act in the Senate. He returned to the subject during the 2014 Alabama legislative session, sponsoring a proposed amendment to the Alabama Constitution of 1901 to ban "foreign law" in the state. In the same session he introduced a "Winter Celebrations Act" aimed at protecting the right of public school students and staff, "to offer traditional greetings" for "traditional winter celebrations."

Allen was a sponsor of the Alabama Marriage Protection Act which was struck down as unconstitutional by U.S. District Judge Ginny Granade in 2015. In the 2016 Alabama legislative session he pre-filed a "Fetal Heartbeat Act" which would ban all abortion procedures if a "fetal heartbeat" was detected, except in cases where the death of the mother or child was likely if the pregnancy continued. Another pre-filed bill would have expanded the right to carry a gun without a license on private property or in private vehicles, and stipulated that carrying a gun could not be considered "disorderly conduct" in the state.

Allen sponsored the 2017 "Alabama Memorial Preservation Act" which was intended to prevent cities or counties from removing Confederate monuments.

Allen successfully fended off a challenge from Lake View activist Lisa Ward in the 2018 general election. In 2019 he was one of 25 Senators who voted for a total abortion ban. In 2020 he sponsored a bill requiring all public schools to play "The Star-Spangled Banner" once a week during school hours and prior to all sporting events. That bill was not brought to a vote. In 2021 he sponsored the Alabama Second Amendment Preservation Act requiring state officials to ignore federal laws or executive actions regulating guns or face criminal charges. He also sponsored a bill eliminating fees associated with gun permits. He has also backed legislation tightening restrictions on sports agents operating in Alabama.

In the 2022 Alabama legislative session Allen introduced a bill which would increase the monetary penalty for cities or counties that removed monuments protected under his earlier act from a lump sum of $25,000 to $5,000 per day. It was not brought to a vote. In 2023 Allen apparently inserted the language from his failed 2022 measure into a bill introduced by Senator Tom Butler (R-District 2) intended to protect the NASA Saturn 1B rocket displayed at the I-65 rest stop near Elkmont.

Allen and his wife Sheila have three children: Wes, Kellie and Jill. Wes Allen was elected to the Alabama House of Representatives from District 89 (Pike and Dale Counties) in 2018 and ran for Alabama Secretary of State in 2022.


Preceded by:
' 		Alabama House of Representatives, District 62
–1994–2010 		Succeeded by:
John Merrill
Preceded by:
Phil Poole 		Alabama State Senate, District 21
2010–present 		Succeeded by:
current

References

External links

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