Preceded by Ralph Sheffield Name Molly White | Nationality American Spouse(s) Ronald Wayne White Role Political figure | |
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Full Name Molly Suzanne Gosney Born February 26, 1958 (age 66) ( 1958-02-26 ) Children Tyrell Sayre WhiteRobert N. WhiteNatalie White Parents Robert Russell and Thelma Jean Hefner Gosney Education Belton High School, University of Mary Hardin–Baylor | ||
Molly Suzanne White (née Gosney; born February 26, 1958) is a conservative political activist from Belton, Texas, who is a former Republican member of the Texas House of Representatives. She represented District 55 for one term, from 2015 through 2017.
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Background
White has lived in Belton since the early 1970s. She is the daughter of a retired military colonel, Robert Russell "Bob" Gosney, and his wife, the former Thelma Jean Hefner (both born 1932), who also reside in Belton. She graduated in 1976 from Belton High School and thereafter the Southern Baptist-affiliated University of Mary Hardin–Baylor in Belton. Her husband, Ronald Wayne White (born 1953), is a long-time road paving contractor. The couple have two sons, Tyrell and Robert White, both graduates of Texas A&M University in College Station, and a daughter, Natalie, a nursing student in 2014 at Temple College in Temple, Texas. The Whites attend the 3C Cowboy Church in Salado in southern Bell County.
Political activism
Staunchly opposed to abortion, White founded the non-profit organization Women for Life International and is the legislative director for Operation Outcry. As a young woman, White had two abortions. She was converted to the anti-abortion cause in 1992 while attending a Bible study and has since spoken out about how abortion had negatively impacted her life. She excoriates the national media for not reporting on post-abortion trauma as she personally experienced.
White annually lobbies before the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women in an attempt to push the organization into a conservative direction. Prior to her legislative service, she worked for passage of parental-consent laws impacting under-age women who procure an abortion and for the defunding of taxpayer money to the abortion provider Planned Parenthood. She has lobbied for mandatory medical ultrasonography screening before a woman can receive an abortion. She has also worked with Phyllis Schlafly's Eagle Forum, Texas Right to Life, Concerned Women for America, and the Liberty Institute. White has staged training seminars on conservative activism and pro-life advocacy in nine nations.
A long-time Republican, White worked in the 2004 and 2008 campaigns to reelect U.S. President George W. Bush and for U.S. Senator John McCain's unsuccessful bid for the Presidency against U.S. Senator Barack Obama.
In 2014, White herself ran for office and unseated the three-term incumbent state representative Ralph Sheffield, a restaurateur from Temple, in the primary election on March 4. Carrying the backing of the Tea Party movement, she polled 4,995 votes (53.7 percent) to Sheffield's 4,302 (46.3 percent). White was unopposed in the November 4 general election.
On January 29, 2015, White stirred controversy by instructing her staff to ask Muslim constituents participating in "Texas Muslim Capitol Day" to "announce publicly allegiance to the United States." White also put up an Israeli flag in her office. Governor Greg Abbott distanced himself from White's remarks and called for "civil discourse" regarding matters of this kind.
In the 2016 primary election, Hugh Shine defeated White by 118 votes. White has requested a recount, which was granted and her loss was confirmed.