Suzanna Hupp
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Suzanna Gratia Hupp (born 1959) is a former Republican member of the Texas House of Representatives, who represented traditionally Democratic District 54 (Bell, Burnet, and Lampasas counties) for ten years from 1997-2007. Hupp is recognized as a leading advocate for the Second Amendment and an individual's right to carry a concealed weapon. She was elected to her first term in 1996 but did not seek a sixth two-year term in 2006.
Hupp was reared in Friendswood, a city partly in Harris and Galveston counties. She has an older brother, Allan, and a younger sister, Erika. She attended the University of Texas at El Paso and Texas Chiropractic College, from which she received the doctor of chiropractic degree in 1985. Hupp moved first to Houston to practice chiropractic and then to central Texas in 1987. She owned and operated the Cove Physical Rehab Clinic from 1987 until 2000, when she sold the facility.
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[edit] Death of parents
On Wednesday, October 16, 1991, Hupp and her parents were having lunch at the Luby's in Killeen. She had left her handgun in her car to comply with Texas state law at the time which forbade carrying a concealed weapon. When George Hennard drove his truck into the cafeteria and opened fire on the patrons, Hupp instinctively reached into her purse for her weapon, but it was in her vehicle. Her father, Al Gratia, tried to rush Hennard and was shot in the chest. As the gunman reloaded, Hupp escaped through a broken window and believed that her mother, Ursula Gratia, was behind her. Instead she watched as Hennard killed her parents and twenty-one other persons. He also wounded some twenty others. As a survivor of the Luby's massacre, Hupp testified across the country in support of concealed-handgun laws. She said that had there been a second chance to prevent the slaughter, she would have violated the Texas law and carried the handgun inside her purse into the restaurant.
[edit] Election returns, 1996-2004
In the 1996 legislative election, the incumbent Democrat in the district, Layton Black, did not run again. Hupp defeated Democratic nominee Dick Miller, 17,620 votes (52.8 percent) to 15,757 ballots (47.2 percent). At the time, the district included Bell and Lampasas counties but also the small populated counties of McCulloch, Mills, and San Saba. In 1998, Hupp defeated Democrat Don Armstrong, 11,954 votes (54.8 percent) to 9,866 ballots (45.2 percent). In 2000, she again defeated Armstrong, 23,139 (62.2 percent) to 14,084 (37.8 percent). The higher turnout reflected the presidential election year. Hupp was unopposed in 2002. In 2004, Hupp defeated the Democrat Edward Lindsay of Killeen, 28,907 votes (60.9 percent) to 18,594 ballots (39.1 percent).
[edit] Hupp in the limelight
Hupp has been quoted in such publications as U.S. News & World Report, The Wall Street Journal, Texas Monthly, and Time and People magazines. She was featured on CBS's 48 Hours, ABC's World News Tonight[citation needed] and season 3 episode 9 of Bullshit!. She was awarded the Sybil Ludington Women's Freedom Award by the National Rifle Association. In 1998, Charlton Heston honored Hupp as the first Texan awarded a lifetime NRA membership.
In the state House, Hupp was a member of the House Rural Caucus and the House Veterans and Military Affairs Caucus. In November 2003, Speaker Tom Craddick appointed Hupp as chair of the House select committee on child welfare and foster care. Craddick also named her to chair the Human Services Committee in the 79th Legislature. She also served on the House Law Enforcement Committee.
Hupp has been recognized by many conservative interest groups: the American Family Association, Free Market Foundation, the Texas Association of Business, the Chamber of Commerce, Texas Alliance For Life, Texas Eagle Forum, and the Young Conservatives of Texas. She was rated 100 percent prolife by the Texas Right to Life Committee.
Hupp is quoted as having said, "How a politician stands on the Second Amendment tells you how he or she views you as an individual... as a trustworthy and productive citizen, or as part of an unruly crowd that needs to be lorded over, controlled, supervised, and taken care of."[citation needed]
Hupp has hosted a radio talk program in the Greater Austin area. She is a co-founder of the Civil Liberties Defense Foundation, a non-profit legal foundation dedicated to providing educational information relating to the preservation of civil liberties guaranteed by the Bill of Rights to the United States Constitution and to providing legal services to protect those rights.
She is married to Greg Hupp, who has served as her campaign manager. They have two sons, Alexander and Ethan. The Hupps have a small Arabian horse ranch in Lampasas County.
[edit] Election history
[edit] Most recent election
[edit] 2004
| Texas general election, 2004: House District 54[1] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Republican | Suzanna Gratia Hupp | 28,907 | 60.86 | -39.14 | |
| Democratic | Edward Lindsey | 18,594 | 39.14 | +39.14 | |
| Majority | 10,313 | 21.71 | -78.29 | ||
| Turnout | 47,501 | +152.50 | |||
| Republican hold | |||||
[edit] Previous elections
[edit] 2002
| Texas general election, 2002: House District 54[2] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Republican | Suzanna Gratia Hupp | 18,812 | 100.00 | +37.82 | |
| Majority | 18,812 | 100.00 | +75.64 | ||
| Turnout | 18,812 | -49.45 | |||
| Republican hold | |||||
[edit] 2000
| Texas general election, 2000: House District 54[3] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Republican | Suzanna Gratia Hupp | 23,139 | 62.18 | +7.40 | |
| Democratic | Don Armstrong | 14,074 | 37.82 | -7.40 | |
| Majority | 9,065 | 24.36 | +14.79 | ||
| Turnout | 37,213 | +70.55 | |||
| Republican hold | |||||
[edit] 1998
| Texas general election, 1998: House District 54[4] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Republican | Suzanna Gratia Hupp | 11,954 | 54.78 | +1.99 | |
| Democratic | Don Armstrong | 9,866 | 45.22 | -1.99 | |
| Majority | 2,088 | 9.57 | +3.99 | ||
| Turnout | 21,820 | -34.63 | |||
| Republican hold | |||||
[edit] 1996
| Texas general election, 1996: House District 54[5] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Republican | Suzanna Gratia Hupp | 17,620 | 52.79 | -0.12 | |
| Democratic | Dick Miller | 15,757 | 47.21 | +0.12 | |
| Majority | 1,863 | 5.58 | -0.25 | ||
| Turnout | 33,377 | +37.33 | |||
| Republican hold | |||||
| Special Election, 5 November 1996: House District 54, Unexpired[6] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Republican | Suzanna Gratia Hupp | 12,861 | 52.92 | +52.92 | |
| Democratic | Dick Miller | 11,444 | 47.08 | -52.92 | |
| Majority | 1,417 | 5.83 | -94.17 | ||
| Turnout | 24,305 | +62.05 | |||
| Republican gain from Democratic | |||||
[edit] Notes
- ^ 2004 General Election. Office of the Secretary of State (Texas). Retrieved on 2006-12-20.
- ^ 2002 General Election. Office of the Secretary of State (Texas). Retrieved on 2006-12-20.
- ^ 2000 General Election. Office of the Secretary of State (Texas). Retrieved on 2006-12-20.
- ^ 1998 General Election. Office of the Secretary of State (Texas). Retrieved on 2006-12-20.
- ^ 1996 General Election. Office of the Secretary of State (Texas). Retrieved on 2006-12-20.
- ^ 1996 November Special Election. Office of the Secretary of State (Texas). Retrieved on 2006-12-20.
[edit] References
| Preceded by Layton Black |
Member of the Texas House of Representatives from District 54 (Lampasas)(1) 1997–2007 |
Succeeded by Jimmie Don Aycock |
| Notes and references | ||
| 1. For the 74th through 77th Legislatures, Hupp’s home city was Kempner | ||
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Suzanna Gratia Hupp |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Texas politician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1959 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | |
| DATE OF DEATH | |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
