{{short description|American politician}} {{for|the American manufacturer, banker and politician from New York|Adam W. Kline}} {{distinguish|Adam Klein (disambiguation){{!}}Adam Klein}} {{Infobox officeholder | honorific_prefix = | name = Adam Kline | honorific_suffix = | image = Adam Kline 01.jpg | alt = | state_senate = Washington | district = 37th | term_start = January 20, 1997 | term_end = January 12, 2015 | preceded = Dwight Pelz | succeeded = Pramila Jayapal | state_house2 = | district2 = | term_start2 = | term_end2 = | preceded2 = | succeeded2 = | birth_name = Adam Daniel Kline | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1944|10|27}} | birth_place = Red Bank, New Jersey, U.S. | party = Democrat | spouse = {{unbulleted list|{{marriage|Desire Plumb|1972|1979|end=separated}}|{{marriage|Laura Gene Middaugh|1989}}}} | website = [https://web.archive.org/web/20091111173556/http://senatedemocrats.wa.gov/senators/kline/ Senate homepage] }}
'''Adam Daniel Kline''' (born October 27, 1944) is an American politician who was the State Senator for Washington's 37th district, comprising part of South Seattle, six precincts in Renton and two in Tukwila. He served the 37th District for more than 17 years. He chaired the Senate Judiciary Committee and was a member of the Government Operations and Elections Committee and the Rules Committee.<ref>{{cite web |last=Rosenthal |first=Brian M. |author-link=Brian M. Rosenthal |date=January 2, 2014 |title=Adam Kline to retire from state Senate |url=http://blogs.seattletimes.com/politicsnorthwest/2014/01/02/adam-kline-to-retire-after-17-years-in-state-senate/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160604233904/http://blogs.seattletimes.com/politicsnorthwest/2014/01/02/adam-kline-to-retire-after-17-years-in-state-senate/ |archive-date=June 4, 2016 |access-date=May 6, 2016 |website=The Seattle Times}}</ref>
Before entering law school, Kline worked as a merchant seaman and as a newspaper reporter. He is a veteran of the Civil Rights Movement. He worked for SNCC in Greenwood, Mississippi, during the 1964 Freedom Summer and, after law school, returned to Greenwood in 1972 to work for North Mississippi Rural Legal Services.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Veterans of the Civil Rights Movement -- Adam Kline |url=https://www.crmvet.org/vet/kline.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160213213938/http://www.crmvet.org/vet/kline.htm |archive-date=February 13, 2016 |access-date=May 24, 2007 |website=Civil Rights Movement Archive}}</ref>
In January 2010, Kline sponsored SB 6396 which attempted to ban assault rifles and pistols.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Shannon |first=Brad |date=January 27, 2010 |title=Pro-gun activists show up en masse |url=http://www.theolympian.com/2010/01/27/1116304/pro-gun-activists-show-up-en-masse.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130630103839/http://www.theolympian.com/2010/01/27/1116304/pro-gun-activists-show-up-en-masse.html |archive-date=June 30, 2013 |access-date=April 19, 2013 |website=The Olympian}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Camden |first=Jim |date=January 26, 2010 |title=Proposed ban on some assault weapons gets mixed reviews |url=https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2010/jan/26/proposed-ban-some-assault-weapons-gets-mixed-revie/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160308025751/http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2010/jan/26/proposed-ban-some-assault-weapons-gets-mixed-revie/ |archive-date=March 8, 2016 |access-date=April 19, 2013 |website=The Spokesman-Review}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Coyle |first=Meg |date=January 26, 2010 |title=Wash. state lawmakers debating assault weapons ban |url=https://www.king5.com/news/local/Wash-state-lawmakers-debating-assault-weapons-ban-82687787.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130625042333/http://www.king5.com/news/local/Wash-state-lawmakers-debating-assault-weapons-ban-82687787.html |archive-date=June 25, 2013 |access-date=April 19, 2013 |website=KING 5}}</ref> In February 2013, Kline sponsored SB 5737 which would allow police to conduct warrantless searches in the homes of gun owners once per year, with a punishment of up to one year in jail for citizens who did not comply. Kline later stated he had not closely read the bill and had made a mistake.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Westneat |first=Danny |date=February 16, 2013 |title=Mistake in gun bill could defeat the effort |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news//2020373291_westneat17xml.html?mbaseid=2020373291 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130402024617/http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2020373291_westneat17xml.html |archive-date=April 2, 2013 |access-date=February 19, 2013 |website=The Seattle Times}}</ref> Media reports noted the inspection provision was present in Kline's bills SB 6396 (2010) and SB 5475 (2005) as written by the Brady Campaign and the San Francisco-based Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Westneat |first=Danny |date=February 23, 2013 |title=Dems keep shooting themselves in foot |url=http://seattletimes.com/avantgo/2020421786.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130630071825/http://seattletimes.com/avantgo/2020421786.html |archive-date=June 30, 2013 |access-date=April 19, 2013 |website=The Seattle Times}}</ref>
Kline practiced law for 32 years before retiring in 2004 to work for the Laborers Union. He was a cooperating attorney with the ACLU and is active with NARAL Pro-Choice America and Washington Conservation Voters.
In 1972, Kline married Desire Plumb, with whom he had one child, Genevieve Amanda Kline. He and Desire parted in 1979, and, in 1989, he married Laura Gene Middaugh, who serves as a judge on the King County Superior Court.<ref>{{cite web |title=About | Senator Adam Kline |url=http://www.adamkline.org/about/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101207042633/http://www.adamkline.org/about/ |archive-date=December 7, 2010 |access-date=May 22, 2022 |website=www.adamkline.org}}</ref>
==Notes== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *[https://web.archive.org/web/20091220033859/http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2010527541_gunban17m.html State lawmakers to seek ban on sales of semi-automatic weapons] *[http://37dems.org/ 37dems.org] *{{C-SPAN|1025252}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kline, Adam}} Category:Democratic Party Washington (state) state senators Category:Living people Category:1944 births Category:Politicians from Red Bank, New Jersey Category:Activists from New Jersey Category:20th-century members of the Washington State Legislature Category:21st-century members of the Washington State Legislature