John A. Lawless
| John A. Lawless | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from the 150th district |
|
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In office January 1, 1991 – November 30, 2002 |
|
| Preceded by | Joseph Lashinger |
| Succeeded by | Jacqueline R. Crahalla |
| Constituency | Part of Montgomery County |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
November 30, 1957 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Political party |
Republican (1991–2000) Democrat (2001–2003) |
| Spouse(s) | divorced |
| Residence | Punta Gorda, Florida |
| Alma mater | West Chester University |
| Occupation | Legislator (retired) |
John A. Lawless is a former member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.
He is a 1975 graduate of Methacton High School. He earned a degree from West Chester University of Pennsylvania in 1979 and has attended classes at Philadelphia College of Textiles and Science. He was first elected to represent the 150th legislative district as a Democrat in 1990 and switch over to the Republican Party two weeks later. During his tenure, he frequently clashed with the Republican leadership in the House Republican Caucus; one newspaper account said that he had "a tendency to tell his party's secrets to the news media."
In February 2001, Lawless gained nationwide media attention when he began an effort to withhold state funding for Penn State University because of "Sex Faire," a student event featuring information on cervical cancer, sexually transmitted diseases, and safe sex practices that he labeled "classless acts of debauchery." The event also had games such as "orgasm bingo" and an "erotic-foods-guaranteed-to-turn-you-on" table. Lawless and a video crew attended the event, where he filmed tables with literature he labeled pornographic and "gingerbread men and women with artful icing." During the university's annual budget hearing, Lawless and several other legislators grilled Penn State President Graham Spanier on the event. During the 4-hour hearing, Lawless played the much-hyped 5-minute tape that he made at the event, causing several legislators to remark it its relative tameness. State Rep. Dan Frankel told the Pittsburgh Post Gazette "No, I wasn't offended. You can find worse things in advertisements in some mainstream publications." State Rep. Babette Josephs said "I was very underwhelmed. This is what it was all about?," blaming the controversy on "somebody, it seems to me, with a problem in his personality and it gets played out because he is in a position of power." In a contentious moment, Lawless told Spanier of a Penn State student who made fun of his facial disfigurement in an e-mail message; Spanier responded by noting that the student had complained to a threatening call from Lawless. In the end, the legislature continued to fund Penn State University.
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