Dana Criswell

Dana Lamar Criswell
Mississippi State Representative for District 6 (DeSoto County)
Incumbent
Assumed office  January 2016
Preceded by	Eugene Forrest Hamilton
Born	October 9, 1963 Pascagoula Jackson County Mississippi
Citizenship	American
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Julie Strum Criswell
Children	Five children
Residence	Olive Branch DeSoto County Mississippi
Alma mater	Delta State University University of Louisiana at Monroe
Occupation	Airline pilot Newsletter editor Federal firearms dealer
Religion	Non-denominational Christian

Dana Lamar Criswell (born October 9, 1963) is an airline pilot who has served since 2016 as a Republican state representative for District 6 in DeSoto County in the far northwestern part of his native Mississippi.^[1]

Born in Pascagoula in Jackson County on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, Criswell received a bachelor's degree in commercial aviation from Delta State University in Cleveland in Bolivar County in western Mississippi and a Master of Education from the University of Louisiana at Monroe. He and his wife, the former Julie Strum, have five children. He is affiliated with the non-denominational SouthPoint Church in Southaven, Mississippi.^[2]

In 2015, Criswell was elected without opposition to the state House in 2015 to succeed fellow Republican Eugene Forrest Hamilton, who did not seek reelection.^[3] and serves on these House committees: (1) Constitution, (2) Drug Policy, (3) Education, and (4) Judiciary A.^[1]

Criswell was a pilot for American Eagle from 1988 to 1994 and since 2001 for FedEx. In 2013, he began editing and publishing Mississippi Gun News. He is also a federal firearms dealer. Criswell considers himself a "non-politician":

I started Mississippi Gun News as a way to help myself and my family keep up with important laws and news about gun rights. It quickly grew to include other writers and gained a following of daily readers that reached across the state and even across the country. Today, Mississippi Gun News has nearly two thousand daily readers from around the country.

When I was first approached by others to run for a political office my reaction was, "No absolutely NOT, I am not a politician, I don't like politicians. ... But I am running for a political office. So why am I here? Because I believe it's time that we step up and make the sacrifice to save our freedoms. If normal folks don't, and we leave our government to the professional career politicians, we are going to lose this great state and nation to those who prefer big government and limited freedom.^[2]

Criswell voted in 2016 to outlaw dismemberment abortions in Mississippi. In 2017, he voted to authorize additional methods of execution in Mississippi and to classify the killing of first responders as first-degree murder. He co-sponsored legislation that permits churches to designate certain individuals to carry firearms into the sanctuary to protect against mass shootings.^[4]

See also[edit]

Other Mississippi Republican state House members:

• William Tracy Arnold
• Steve Hopkins
• Trey Lamar
• Shane Aguirre
• Jeff Hale
• Dan Eubanks
• Robert Foster
• Ashley Henley
• Rob Roberson
• Karl Oliver
• Bill Kinkade
• Vince Mangold
• Brent Powell
• Cory Wilson
• William Shirley
• Shane Barnett
• Chris Johnson
• Noah Sanford
• Timmy Ladner
• Patricia Willis
• Brad Touchstone
• Roun McNeal
• Doug McLeod
• Charles Busby
• Scott DeLano
• Greg Haney

References[edit]