| James R. Roebuck, Jr. | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from the 188th district |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 1985 |
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| Preceded by | James Williams |
| Personal details | |
| Born | February 12, 1945 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Cheryl Arrington |
| Residence | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Alma mater | Virginia Union University, University of Virginia |
| Profession | educator |
| Religion | Baptist |
James R. Roebuck, Jr. (born February 12, 1945) is a Democratic politician who represents the 188th Legislative District (West Philadelphia) in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. He was first elected in a special election on May 21, 1985.[1]
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Roebuck is a 1963 graduate of Central High School. He earned a bachelor's degree in 1966 from Virginia Union University. He earned a Ph.D. in 1977 from University of Virginia.
Within the last three years, Representative Roebuck has been active in many actions in the House of Representatives. However, his most recent actions have seemed to be concentrated on two main topics - the environment and self-protection laws. These, however, are not the only topics he has concentrated on.
In 2007, Representative Roebuck was very supportive of the actions in the Pennsylvania branch of the Sierra Club, as well as the initiative of a group called PennEnvironment, both of which focus on helping the environment. Representative Roebuck has been supportive of many of these bills.
He supported the Environmentally Beneficial and Energy Efficient Technologies bill, which was formed to support new ways of testing energy-efficient technologies, like cars, lights, and machines. He also supported a Recycling Program for Electronic Materials, which would set up a recycling system for electronic devices and materials. Representative Roebuck also supported a Clean Energy Program, which would invest up to $850 million into the support of energy-efficient agendas. However, these are only a summary of his actions to support the Energy Conservation agendas.
Recently, Representative Roebuck voted "Nay" (or "no") to amending the self-protection laws. This bill would have allowed citizens to carry a firearm for self-protection. It also clarifies many misconceptions about previous laws on this topic. However, this bill passed in the United States House of Representatives on June 8, 2010, and the Senate on October 14, 2010. Representative Roebuck also voted "Nay" (or "no") to self-defense law amendments. Like the self-protection laws, this bill clarified the times in which a person is classified as "defending themselves." It specifies and establishes foundations for what classifies as "self-defense" and aggressive behavior, and where the line is drawn between the two. This bill has passed in the House of Representatives on October 5, 2010, but has yet to be passed by the Senate.