User:Lbmchenry/sandbox

= Stephanie Flowers =

Family
Stephanie Flowers was born to Margaret Brown Flowers, an educator, and William Harold Flowers, a notable attorney who pioneered desegregation of the University of Arkansas School of Law at Fayetteville, AR.

Her relative, Vivian Flowers, serves in the Arkansas House of Representatives for District 17.

Early Career
After graduating from Thurgood Marshall School of Law, Flowers returned to Pine Bluff, Arkansas, where she entered into private practice. Flowers served as a deputy prosecutor for the juvenile court in Jefferson County, Arkansas and has been a practicing lawyer for over 30 years.

Senator Flowers
After her initial election in 2010, Flowers is currently serving her second term after being reelected in 2016.

Committee Memberships
Stephanie Flowers serves as Vice Chair on the Arkansas Senate Judiciary Committee and on the Joint Budget Claims Committee. Flowers also serves as a member on the following committees: Arkansas Legislative Council, Joint Budget Committee, City, County & Local Affairs Senate Committee, Joint Energy Committee, Children and Youth Senate Committee, and the Arkansas Legislative Black Caucus.

Gun Control and Senate Bill 484 (2019)
Stephanie Flowers went viral in early 2019 when she made "impassioned remarks," about debate on Senate Bill 484 which removed the "duty to retreat" portion Stand Your Ground law being presented before the Senate Judiciary Committee. As discussion before the Committee about the bill surpassed two hours, there was a motion to limit commentary to 10 minutes per person. As the only black member of the Committee, Flowers defended the right of citizens to debate on the Bill, remarking that people like her son don't "walk the same path." Coverage of the remarks especially focused on Flowers' response to Senator Alan Clark in which he cautioned her to stop yelling and she said, "What the hell you going to do, shoot me?"