{{Short description|American politician (born 1956)}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Dodie Horton | image = Dodie Horton 4-10-2025.jpg | caption = Horton in 2025 | office = Member of the<br>[[Louisiana House of Representatives]]<br>from the 9th district | term_start = January 2016 | term_end = | preceded = [[Henry Lee Burns|Henry Burns]] | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1956|12|06}} | birth_place = | occupation = Legislative assistant prior to her election to the state House of Representatives | spouse = {{marriage|Gary Horton|1976}} | children = 3 | party = [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] | parents = | alma_mater = | footnotes = }}
'''Sylvia Delores Miller Horton''', known as '''Dodie Horton''' (born December 6, 1956),<ref>{{cite web|url=https://voterportal.sos.la.gov/Home/Home?uid=3298187|title=Sylvia Horton, December 1956|publisher=[[Louisiana Secretary of State]]|access-date=November 29, 2015}}{{dead link|date=September 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> is a [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] from [[Haughton, Louisiana|Haughton]], [[Louisiana]], who is the [[Louisiana House of Representatives|state representative]] for District 9 in [[Bossier Parish, Louisiana|Bossier Parish]] in the northwestern corner of her state.
In January 2016, Horton succeeded [[Henry Lee Burns|Henry Burns]] of [[Bossier City, Louisiana|Bossier City]], who left the House seat to seek the District 36 position in the [[Louisiana State Senate]]. Horton had been Burns' legislative assistant since he entered the House in 2008.<ref name=bpt>{{cite web|url=http://bossierpress.com/carlson-meet-state-representative-candidate-dodie-horton/|title=Carlson: Meet state representative candidate Dodie Horton|author=Marty Carlson|publisher=[[Bossier Press-Tribune]]|date=June 17, 2015|access-date=November 29, 2015}}</ref>
In the [[Partisan primary|primary election]] held on October 24, 2015, Horton handily defeated a single opponent, fellow Republican Mike McHalffey (born March 1959) of [[Benton, Louisiana|Benton]], 4,584 votes (63.8 percent) to 2,602 (36.2 percent), for the right to succeed Burns.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://staticresults.sos.la.gov/10242015/10242015_Legislative.html|title=Results for Election Date: 10/24/2015|publisher=Louisiana Secretary of State|access-date=October 25, 2015}}</ref>
==Career== On June 8, 2017, Democratic state Senator [[Karen Carter Peterson]] of [[New Orleans]] shouted an obscenity at Representative Horton after Horton asked a group of senators present on the House floor to stop talking so that the budget proceedings being considered could be heard.<ref>{{cite news|title=Civility takes backseat: 'Sit down and shut up'|first=Greg|last=Hilburn|url=http://www.thenewsstar.com/story/news/2017/06/12/shut-up/388758001/|newspaper=[[The News-Star]]|location=Monroe|date=June 12, 2017|access-date=June 12, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170612235724/http://www.thenewsstar.com/story/news/2017/06/12/shut-up/388758001/|archive-date=June 12, 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> Peterson later apologized for her verbal attack.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://710keel.com/louisiana-senator-tells-dodie-horton-of-haughton-to-shut-the-f-up/|title=Louisiana Senator Tells Dodie Horton of Haughton to ...|date=9 June 2017 |publisher=[[KEEL]] [[Radio]]|access-date=June 9, 2017}}</ref>
The House voted in May 2019 to roll back a sales tax hike of 0.45 percent that was scheduled to expire in 2025, but Horton said that she was pessimistic about the tax being reduced because so many Republicans in the state Senate are not [[Conservative (politics)|conservatives]]. "Not all Republicans are equal," she said.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://710keel.com/dodie-horton-on-tax-cuts-not-all-republicans-are-equal-video/|title=Dodie Horton on Tax Cuts: Not all Republicans are equal|author=Robert J. Wright|publisher=[[KEEL]] Radio|date=May 24, 2019|access-date=May 27, 2019}}</ref>
In March 2022, Horton authored House Bill 837 that would punish schools, teachers and administrators for discussing any topics in classrooms that related to LGBTQ American individuals, their lives and their families. Horton stated that "my bill is an attempt to protect our most innocent from indoctrination of any kind." Horton went on to claim that sexual orientation is a choice.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://bossierpress.com/louisiana-state-representative-dodie-horton-nothing-in-the-proposed-legislation-refers-to-any-particular-group-or-lifestyle-choice/|title=Louisiana State Representative Dodie Horton: Nothing in the proposed legislation refers to any particular group or lifestyle choice | Bossier Press-Tribune|access-date=2022-03-21|archive-date=2022-03-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220319200954/https://bossierpress.com/louisiana-state-representative-dodie-horton-nothing-in-the-proposed-legislation-refers-to-any-particular-group-or-lifestyle-choice/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
In 2023, Horton authored HB8 which requires public schools to display the national motto of "In God We Trust" inside of all classrooms. The bill was signed by Governor [[John Bel Edwards]] in June 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ogunbayo |first=Morayo |date=August 2, 2023 |title=Louisiana public schools now required to display 'In God We Trust' in all classrooms |url=https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/02/us/louisiana-public-schools-in-god-we-trust/index.html |website=Yahoo}}</ref>
In 2024, Horton voted in favor of advancing House Bill 545 from the Administration of Criminal Justice committee.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Roll Call and Record Vote|url=https://house.louisiana.gov/H_CmteRecordRolCallVotes/RollCallVotes/ACRJ_04162024.pdf|access-date=2024-04-16|website=Louisiana House of Representatives|language=en-US}}</ref> The bill, filed by [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] [[Beryl Amedee]], would remove legal protections for obscenity from teachers and librarians in all Louisiana public schools.<ref>{{Cite web|title=House Bill 545|url=https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/ViewDocument.aspx?d=1351530|access-date=2024-04-16|website=Louisiana House of Representatives|language=en-US}}</ref>
In 2024, Horton pushed for [[House Bill 71]], requiring the [[Ten Commandments]] to be displayed in all Louisiana public schools.<ref>{{Cite web | title=Louisiana to become 1st state requiring Ten Commandments be posted in schools - Axios New Orleans | url=https://www.axios.com/local/new-orleans/2024/05/29/louisiana-first-state-require-ten-commandments-schools | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240529060215/https://www.axios.com/local/new-orleans/2024/05/29/louisiana-first-state-require-ten-commandments-schools | access-date=2026-02-14 | archive-date=2024-05-29}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | title=State may soon require public school classrooms to display the Ten Commandments - ABC News | url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/louisiana-require-public-school-classrooms-display-ten-commandments-110684894 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240530181024/https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/louisiana-require-public-school-classrooms-display-ten-commandments-110684894 | access-date=2026-02-14 | archive-date=2024-05-30}}</ref> The bill was signed into law June 18, 2024, by Governor [[Jeff Landry]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rojas |first=Rick |date=June 18, 2024 |title=Louisiana Requires Ten Commandments to Be Displayed in Every Public Classroom |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/19/us/lousiana-ten-commandments-classrooms.html |website=The New York Times}}</ref> Within hours after its signing the law was challenged by four civil liberties groups.<ref>{{Cite web |last=LaRose |first=Greg |date=June 19, 2024 |title=Louisiana Requires Ten Commandments to Be Displayed in Every Public Classroom |url=https://news.yahoo.com/news/louisiana-face-lawsuit-over-ten-015533766.html |website=Yahoo}}</ref>
==Personal life== Horton and her husband, Gary Lynn Horton (born November 1953),<ref>{{cite web|url=https://voterportal.sos.la.gov/Home/Home?uid=3298174|title=Gary Horton, November 1953|publisher=Louisiana Secretary of State|access-date=November 29, 2015}}{{dead link|date=September 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> married in 1976. They have three daughters. She is [[Southern Baptist]].<ref name=bpt/>
Horton has a high school education.{{citation needed|date=June 2024}}
{{Portal bar|United States|Politics|Conservatism}}
==References== {{reflist}}
{{s-start}} {{s-par|us-la-hs}} {{succession box | before=[[Henry Lee Burns|Henry Burns]] | title=[[Louisiana State Legislature|Louisiana State Representative for District 9 (Bossier Parish)]] | years=2016 – | after=Incumbent}} {{s-end}}
{{Louisiana House of Representatives}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Horton, Dodie}} [[Category:1956 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:People from Haughton, Louisiana]] [[Category:Louisiana Republicans]] [[Category:Republican Party members of the Louisiana House of Representatives]] [[Category:21st-century members of the Louisiana State Legislature]] [[Category:Women state legislators in Louisiana]] [[Category:Women in Louisiana politics]] [[Category:Baptists from Louisiana]] [[Category:Place of birth missing (living people)]] [[Category:21st-century American women politicians]]