Charles Lemuel Young Jr. (born July 9, 1962) is an American politician. He is a member of the Mississippi House of Representatives from the 82nd District, being first elected in 2011. His district represents Lauderdale County including the city of Meridian. He is a member of the Democratic party.[1][2][3]

Charles Young Jr.
Young in 2016
Member of the Mississippi House of Representatives
from the 82nd district
Assumed office
2012
Preceded byWilbert L. Jones
Personal details
Born (1962-07-09) July 9, 1962 (age 62)
Meridian, Mississippi, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
ProfessionPresident, E.F. Young Jr. Manufacturing Company

Background

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He is the son of Charles L. Young Sr., who served in the Mississippi House of Representatives from 1980 until his death in 2009. His paternal grandfather is E. F. Young Jr. who founded a cosmetics firm and a hotel based in Meridian, Mississippi.

His sister Veldore Young-Graham currently serves as the County Court Judge for Lauderdale County, Mississippi.[4]

Electoral history

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2011

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Mississippi House of Representatives Democratic primary (82nd district)[5]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Wilbert Jones (inc.) 888 46.52
Democratic Charles Young, Jr. 1,021 53.48
Mississippi House of Representatives general election (82nd district)[6]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Charles Young, Jr. 3,818 100.00

2015

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Mississippi House of Representatives Democratic primary (82nd district)[7]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Charles L. Young, Jr. (inc.) 1,521 100.00
Mississippi House of Representatives general election (82nd district)[8]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Charles L. Young, Jr. (inc.) 3,203 100.00

2019

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Mississippi House of Representatives Democratic primary (82nd district)[9]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Charles L. Young, Jr. (inc.) 1,994 100.00
Mississippi House of Representatives general election (82nd district)[10]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Charles L. Young, Jr. (inc.) 3,649 100.00

Political positions

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Religious Liberty Accommodations Act

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Young is a vocal critic of Mississippi House Bill 1523 (H.B. 1523) which was passed by the legislature 69-44 in 2016. The bill allows individuals to discriminate against same sex couples who have "deeply held religious beliefs or moral convictions" against such unions. Speaking to the Meridian Star after the passage of the bill, Young said:

I, as an individual, might disagree from a personal standpoint with certain protections of human rights. I personally might not like gay rights, I personally might not like women's rights. But as a duly elected official, I have a sworn obligation to protect and to uphold every persons' rights. And as a publicly-elected official, I have to be able to separate my personal from my elected responsibilities in my capacity.[11]

Mississippi State Flag Controversy

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In 2020, Mississippi remains the only state in the United States that incorporates the Confederate battle flag. Contrary to many of his colleagues in the Lesgislature, Young believes that the fate of the flag should be decided by them, and not be left for the voters to decide:

My preference would be that the Legislature not pass the buck and that the Legislature conduct the vote to determine the future of the current flag … We’re the only state in the nation that continues to bear the stars and bars and I think we need to change. My reason for that is financial. The state of Mississippi loses a ton of money each year.[12]

References

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  1. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on January 31, 2017. Retrieved April 23, 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. ^ "Charles Young, Jr". Mississippi House of Representatives. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
  3. ^ "Your Government Officials". Meridian, Mississippi: Meridian Star. February 23, 2020. p. I6.
  4. ^ "County Court". Lauderdale County, Mississippi. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
  5. ^ "Official Recapitulation 2011 Primary Election" (PDF). Secretary of State. State of Mississippi. August 10, 2011. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
  6. ^ "Total Votes Reported by County for the 2011 General Election" (PDF). Secretary of State. State of Mississippi. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
  7. ^ "Official Recapitulation Primary Election". Secretary of State. State of Mississippi. August 20, 2015. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
  8. ^ "Total Votes Reported by County for the 2015 General Election". Secretary of State. State of Mississippi. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
  9. ^ "Democratic Primary Election Results 2019 (Amended)". Secretary of State. State of Mississippi. Archived from the original on August 18, 2019. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
  10. ^ "Official Recapitulation: General Election". Secretary of State. State of Mississippi. November 14, 2019. Archived from the original on December 5, 2019. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
  11. ^ Brown, Ida; Graham, Bill (April 3, 2016). "Young: Bill 1523 is discriminatory". Meridian, Mississippi: Meridian Star. pp. A1, A3. Retrieved May 8, 2020. If we re-enacted the draft and folks said they didn't want to go to war, then Mississippi would consider you unAmerican. But you can walk into a government facility, and people who work in that government facility can deny you service.
  12. ^ Kelly, Erin (June 13, 2016). "Most East Mississippi lawmakers say people should decide on flag". Meridian, Mississippi: Meridian Star. pp. A4. Retrieved June 23, 2020. We're the only state in the nation that continues to bear the stars and bars and I think we need to change.