Carl Gunter, Jr.

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Carl Newton Gunter, Jr.
In office
1972 – 1992
Preceded by T.C. Brister (D)
Succeeded by Rick L. Farrar (D)
Constituency House District 27
Born October 16, 1938(1938-10-16)
Alexandria Rapides Parish, Louisiana, USA}
Died July 6, 1999 (aged 60)
Kolin in Rapides Parish, Louisiana
Political party Democratic
Spouse Jessie Paulk Gunter
Children Carl N. Gunter, III
Rhonda Doreen Gunter
Melody Gunter Slocum
Penny Gunter Rosier
Fancy Gunter
Ryan Travis Gunter
Residence Kolin, Louisiana
Religion Baptist

Carl Newton Gunter, Jr. (October 16, 1938 - July 6, 1999), was a Democratic member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1972-1992, known in part for his opposition to abortion.

Gunter was born in Alexandria, the seat of Rapides Parish and the largest city in central Louisiana, to Carl N. "Euddie" Gunter, Sr. (June 23, 1916 - November 10, 1975)[1], and Gladys Slay Gunter (April 18, 1920 - ). His paternal grandparents were John Gunter (January 31, 1886 - July 26, 1963) and Mary Hooper Gunter (May 21, 1895 - January 6, 1976)[2]. Maternal grandparents were Charles O. "Buck" Slay (November 03, 1894 - September 10, 1967) and the former Louella Sullivan (September 22, 1899 - December 13, 1996)[3].

Contents

[edit] Early years

Gunter was the oldest of five children. His siblings are John O. Gunter, Travis Gunter, and a sister, Gladys. The other brother, Elton Wayne Gunter (February 12, 1946 - February 17, 1947),[4] died from a childhood illness.

Gunter graduated from Buckeye High School in 1957. He was voted "Most Athletic" and class president in his senior year. He also attended Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge and Louisiana College at Pineville.

In 1957, Gunter married his high school sweetheart, Jessie Paulk (born 1940), and they had six children. Carl N. Gunter, III (born 1959), Rhonda Doreen Gunter (September 3, 1960 - February 20, 1962),[5] Melody Gunter, Penny Gunter, Fancy Gunter, and Ryan Travis Gunter (born 1967). At the time of his death, Gunter had 13 grandchildren.

Gunter worked as an offshore roustabout and opened a business called Pineville Motor Parts.

[edit] As state representative

In 1971, at the age of thirty-two, Gunter was elected to the Louisiana House from District 27, where he remained until being defeated in the 1991 jungle primary.

In 1987, Gloria Williams Hearn, a fellow Democrat and an educator, challenged Gunter for reelection. He prevailed with 8,507 votes (61 percent) to her 5,402 ballots (39 percent).

In 1991 Louisiana State Senator Alan R. Bares (pronounced BAH REZ) of Lafayette sponsored a bill to outlaw most abortions in Louisiana. The National Organization for Women's national secretary, Kim Gandy, originally from Bossier City, directed a nine-month-long "grassroots organizing and recruiting effort" against the bill. In a debate over the bills provision regarding incest, Gunter stated that "That's how we get thoroughbred race horses." Gunter's advocates argue that he was asserting that fetuses conceived within an incestuous relationship should also have a right to life. The comparison with race horses, however, was used against him by his opponents.

Gunter already had a longtime contentious relationship with the local press. Former colleague Claude "Buddy" Leach of Leesville, who delivered Gunter's eulogy, told how Gunter once threatened Governor Edwin Washington Edwards into removing businessman Joe D. Smith, Jr., then publisher of the local newspaper, Alexandria Daily Town Talk from the [6] LSU Board of Supervisors].

The result of it all was that both Gunter and Bares were defeated. Gunter was defeated by fellow Democrat Rick Farrar, 7,729 (57 percent) to Gunter's 5,929 (43 percent), exactly 1,800 votes. Bares was defeated by the Republican J. Lomax "Max" Jordan, Jr., an attorney, in a district that embraced parts of Lafayette and Acadia parishes.

The Feminist Majority Foundation wrote in the 1991 edition of Feminist Chronicles that the defeats of Bares and Gunter were [7] "among the sweetest victories" of the year. Gunter's choice of words will always be the subject of speculation and Louisiana political lore.

[edit] Cancer victim

In 1998 Gunter was diagnosed with cancer and succumbed the next year at his home in Kolin near the Red River. He was sixty. He is buried in the Holloway Cemetery in Rapides Parish. Gunter was of Czech extraction.

[edit] Notes

  1. ^  Philadelphia Cemetery
  2. ^  Holloway Cemetery
  3. ^  Slay Cemetery, Holloway, La.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Preceded by
T.C. Brister (D)		 Louisiana State Representative for District 27

Carl Newton Gunter, Jr. (D)
1972–1992

 Succeeded by
Rick L. Farrar (D)