RoseMarie Swanger
RoseMarie Swanger (born October 31, 1945) is a former Republican member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for the 102nd District and was elected in 2006. Swanger is a 1963 graduate of South Lebanon High School. She attended Thompson Institute and has completed management courses at Lebanon Valley College. She worked as a Clerk in the Mayor's office of Lebanon, Pennsylvania from 1966 through 1972, as Assistant City Clerk from 1972 through 1974, and as City Clerk for Lebanon, Pennsylvania from 1974 through 1984. She served as County Commissioner for Lebanon County from 1984 through 2004. Swanger  defeated incumbent Peter Zug in the 2006 Republican primary following the 2005 legislative pay raise. In 2014 she announced her retirement and would not seek election, endorsing Russ Diamond. The "Anti-Shari'a Law". In 2011, both WLBR radio and the "Lebanon Daily News" named Swanger one of the least effective state legislators in Pennsylvania, citing that she had never been a sole sponsor of a bill that was actually made into law in four years. In response, Swanger introduced HB 2029, "American Law for American Courts," which quickly became known as the Pennsylvania "Anti-Shari'a Law." After accidentally releasing the  text with language revealing its religiously discriminatory motivations, such as the "nefarious nature" of Islamic law on the court. Calling it a "draft," Swanger offered the press a revised proposal, which banned "foreign law" from us in Pennsylvania courts, and it received general support from state Republican leadership. In a letter to the legislature, explaining her rationale behind HB 2029, Swanger wrote of Shari'a as a "menace" and "imposing an agenda on the American people." A coalition of interfaith groups which included Jews, Catholics, and Muslims, and the Anti-Defamation League rose in opposition to the bill, calling it "Islamophobic ," and cities passed resolutions against the legislation. After stalling in the legislative judiciary committee, State House Speaker Daryl Metcalfe slated a hearing for November 14, 2012, after the legislative session would end, to give the appearance of support to capitalize on anti-Islamic rhetoric against President Barack Obama in the 2012 Presidential Election on November 6. After leaving office, Swanger later reflected on Facebook in a post to the former editor of the "Lebanon Daily News":It's a political system, not a religion. It allows husbands to beat their wives, stones to death women who are raped, allows husband to  divorce one of their wives by clapping 3 times and the woman is out on the street, cuts off the hands of thieves, sanctions honor killings, etc., etc. It flies in the face of our Constitution. My bill, called "American Law for American Courts" was to keep ALL foreign law out of our courts, not specifically Sharia.After announcing that she would not seek another term for election in January, 2014, Swanger re-introduced the proposed law again as HB 2168 in April, which was described as "dead on arrival."