Lane Carson
Encyclopedia
Lane Anderson Carson is the head of the Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs
in the administration of Governor Bobby Jindal
. Carson is also a licensed building contractor
and real estate broker, and an attorney in private practice. He resides in Covington
, the seat of St. Tammany Parish. He was previously chief of the Civil Division of the 22nd Judicial District of his parish.
leader in the United States Army
in South Vietnam
during the Vietnam War
. He was wounded and discharged and returned to the USA. He graduated in 1971 with a bachelor's degree
from Louisiana State University
in Baton Rouge. In 1974, he received his Juris Doctor
degree from Tulane University Law School
in New Orleans.
He served in the Louisiana House of Representatives
from 1976 to 1983, representing House District 99 in Orleans Parish first as a Democrat
(1976–1977), and thereafter as a member of the Republican Party
. Carson was the first Vietnam War veteran to serve in his state's legislature.
During his legislative tenure, Carson served on the Civil Law, House and Governmental, and Health and Welfare Committees and Veterans and Elderly Sub-committees. Carson voted for legislation allowing eyeglass and prescription drug advertising, permitting teachers to search for drugs and weapons, and accelerating the process of capital punishment. He voted to require restitution to victims of crime, to provide police with access to juvenile criminal records, and to enact stiff penalties for those engaging in child pornography
.
After more than six years of legislative tenure, Carson resigned his House seat to become Assistant Secretary in the Louisiana Department of Health and Human Resources during the administration of Republican Governor David C. Treen
. He was succeeded in the House seat by the French Quarter
businessman Garey Forster
. Carson later became an assistant district attorney in St. Tammany Parish, where, as chief of the Civil Division for more than twenty years, he was a legal advisor to St. Tammany Parish government and numerous boards and commissions.
In 1985, U.S. President Ronald W. Reagan nominated Carson, to the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board for a term which expired on December 3, 1988. In 2003, President George W. Bush
appointed him to the board of directors of the National Institute of Building Sciences.
Carson belongs to many veterans organizations and was appointed by Republican Governor Mike Foster
to the Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs to represent the Military Order of the Purple Heart. He was appointed to the Louisiana Military Hall of Fame Museum Board early in the 21st century.
Carson and his wife, Laura, have two children. A son, Christopher Carson, is a 2004 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy
in Annapolis
, Maryland
, who has served as a surface warfare officer in the United States Navy
. A daughter, Rebecca, an architect
, is married to Nat Parks. Mrs. Carson is a retired assistant principal from the St. Tammany Parish public schools. Carson is Baptist
.
Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs
The Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs was created in 1944. The department was elevated to cabinet level in 2003.The mission of the LDVA is to provide comprehensive care and quality service to Louisiana’s veterans and families with regard to health care, education, disability benefits,...
in the administration of Governor Bobby Jindal
Bobby Jindal
Piyush "Bobby" Jindal is the 55th and current Governor of Louisiana and formerly a member of the United States House of Representatives. He is a member of the Republican Party....
. Carson is also a licensed building contractor
General contractor
A general contractor is responsible for the day-to-day oversight of a construction site, management of vendors and trades, and communication of information to involved parties throughout the course of a building project.-Description:...
and real estate broker, and an attorney in private practice. He resides in Covington
Covington, Louisiana
Covington is a city in and the parish seat of St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 8,483 at the 2000 census. It is located at a fork of the Bogue Falaya and the Tchefuncte River....
, the seat of St. Tammany Parish. He was previously chief of the Civil Division of the 22nd Judicial District of his parish.
Career
Carson was a platoonPlatoon
A platoon is a military unit typically composed of two to four sections or squads and containing 16 to 50 soldiers. Platoons are organized into a company, which typically consists of three, four or five platoons. A platoon is typically the smallest military unit led by a commissioned officer—the...
leader in the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
in South Vietnam
South Vietnam
South Vietnam was a state which governed southern Vietnam until 1975. It received international recognition in 1950 as the "State of Vietnam" and later as the "Republic of Vietnam" . Its capital was Saigon...
during the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. He was wounded and discharged and returned to the USA. He graduated in 1971 with a bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
from Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, most often referred to as Louisiana State University, or LSU, is a public coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The University was founded in 1853 in what is now known as Pineville, Louisiana, under the name...
in Baton Rouge. In 1974, he received his Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
degree from Tulane University Law School
Tulane University Law School
Tulane University Law School is the law school of Tulane University. It is located on Tulane's Uptown campus in New Orleans, Louisiana. Established in 1847, it is the 12th oldest law school in the United States....
in New Orleans.
He served in the Louisiana House of Representatives
Louisiana House of Representatives
The Louisiana House of Representatives is the lower house in the Louisiana State Legislature, the state legislature of the US state of Louisiana. The House is composed of 105 Representatives, each of whom represents approximately 42,500 people . Members serve four-year terms with a term limit of...
from 1976 to 1983, representing House District 99 in Orleans Parish first as a Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
(1976–1977), and thereafter as a member of the Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
. Carson was the first Vietnam War veteran to serve in his state's legislature.
During his legislative tenure, Carson served on the Civil Law, House and Governmental, and Health and Welfare Committees and Veterans and Elderly Sub-committees. Carson voted for legislation allowing eyeglass and prescription drug advertising, permitting teachers to search for drugs and weapons, and accelerating the process of capital punishment. He voted to require restitution to victims of crime, to provide police with access to juvenile criminal records, and to enact stiff penalties for those engaging in child pornography
Child pornography
Child pornography refers to images or films and, in some cases, writings depicting sexually explicit activities involving a child...
.
After more than six years of legislative tenure, Carson resigned his House seat to become Assistant Secretary in the Louisiana Department of Health and Human Resources during the administration of Republican Governor David C. Treen
David C. Treen
David Conner "Dave" Treen, Sr. , was an American attorney and politician from Mandeville, St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana – the first Republican Governor of the U.S. state of Louisiana since Reconstruction. He was the first Republican in modern times to have served in the U.S...
. He was succeeded in the House seat by the French Quarter
French Quarter
The French Quarter, also known as Vieux Carré, is the oldest neighborhood in the city of New Orleans. When New Orleans was founded in 1718 by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, the city was originally centered on the French Quarter, or the Vieux Carré as it was known then...
businessman Garey Forster
Garey Forster
Garey Forster is an American radio host who served in District 98 as a Republican member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1982–1997, when he resigned to become the state secretary of labor under Governor Murphy J...
. Carson later became an assistant district attorney in St. Tammany Parish, where, as chief of the Civil Division for more than twenty years, he was a legal advisor to St. Tammany Parish government and numerous boards and commissions.
In 1985, U.S. President Ronald W. Reagan nominated Carson, to the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board for a term which expired on December 3, 1988. In 2003, President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
appointed him to the board of directors of the National Institute of Building Sciences.
Carson belongs to many veterans organizations and was appointed by Republican Governor Mike Foster
Murphy J. Foster, Jr.
Murphy James "Mike" Foster, Jr. served as 53rd Governor of Louisiana from January 1996 until January 2004. Foster's father was Murphy J. Foster, Jr., but Mike Foster uses "Jr." even though he is technically Murphy J. Foster, III. Foster is a businessman, landowner, and sportsman in St...
to the Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs to represent the Military Order of the Purple Heart. He was appointed to the Louisiana Military Hall of Fame Museum Board early in the 21st century.
Carson and his wife, Laura, have two children. A son, Christopher Carson, is a 2004 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy
United States Naval Academy
The United States Naval Academy is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located in Annapolis, Maryland, United States...
in Annapolis
Annapolis, Maryland
Annapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland, as well as the county seat of Anne Arundel County. It had a population of 38,394 at the 2010 census and is situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east of Washington, D.C. Annapolis is...
, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
, who has served as a surface warfare officer in the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
. A daughter, Rebecca, an architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
, is married to Nat Parks. Mrs. Carson is a retired assistant principal from the St. Tammany Parish public schools. Carson is Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
.
External links
- http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/speeches/1985/121185a.htm
- http://pview.findlaw.com/view/2879092_1?noconfirm=0
- http://www.usna.com/News_Pubs/News/SearchNewsRead.asp?Article=4907
- http://www.rejuvenola.com/
- http://www.senate.gov/comm/banking_housing_and_urban_affairs/general/noms/nibs/carson.htm
- http://www.sos.louisiana.gov:8090/cgibin/?rqstyp=elcpr&rqsdta=03090452
- http://216.239.51.104/search?q=cache:EO6WECXezQkJ:www.nibs.org/July03.pdf+lane+carson&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=16
- http://www.thenewsstar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071206/NEWS01/712060313