Peter Murphy is an American politician who represents district 28 in the Maryland House of Delegates

Maryland House of Delegates

The Maryland House of Delegates is the lower house of the General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland, and is composed of 141 Delegates elected from 47 districts. The House chamber is located in the state capitol building on State Circle in Annapolis...

.

Background

Murphy was born in Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

, on July 15, 1949. He has both a B.A.

Bachelor of Arts

A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...

 and an M.A.

Master of Arts (postgraduate)

A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...

 from the American University

American University

American University is a private, Methodist, liberal arts, and research university in Washington, D.C. The university was chartered by an Act of Congress on December 5, 1892 as "The American University", which was approved by President Benjamin Harrison on February 24, 1893...

, and an Ed.S. Degree in Counseling from George Washington University

George Washington University

The George Washington University is a private, coeducational comprehensive university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States...

.
He began his non-political career as a microbiologist for the National Institutes of Health

National Institutes of Health

The National Institutes of Health are an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and are the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and health-related research. Its science and engineering counterpart is the National Science Foundation...

. There he developed a strong interest in teaching and education and went on to teach science and math at General Smallwood Middle School in Indian Head, Maryland

Indian Head, Maryland

Indian Head is a town in Charles County, Maryland, United States. The population was 3,422 at the 2000 census. It has been the site of a naval base specializing in gun and rocket propellants since 1890. Production of nitrocellulose and smokeless powder began at the Indian Head Powder Factory in 1900...

. He later directed a large educational testing program at George Washington University

George Washington University

The George Washington University is a private, coeducational comprehensive university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States...

.

In the legislature

Member of House of Delegates since January 10, 2007. Member, Ways and Means Committee, 2007- (education subcommittee, 2007-; transportation subcommittee, 2007-).

Legislative notes

• voted for the Clean Indoor Air Act of 2007 (HB359)
• voted in favor of increasing the sales tax by 20% - Tax Reform Act of 2007 (HB2)
• voted in favor of in-state tuition for illegal immigrants in 2007 (HB6)
• sponsored House Bill 30 in 2007, allowing the state to confiscate unused portions of gift certificates after 4 years.

Personal

Murphy is openly

Coming out

Coming out is a figure of speech for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people's disclosure of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity....

 gay

Gay

Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....

. He is one of eight openly LGBT

LGBT

LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...

 members of the Maryland General Assembly

Maryland General Assembly

The Maryland General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland. It is a bicameral body. The upper chamber, the Maryland State Senate, has 47 representatives and the lower chamber, the Maryland House of Delegates, has 141 representatives...

, alongside Sen. Rich Madaleno (D–Kensington) and Dels. Anne Kaiser

Anne Kaiser

Anne R. Kaiser is an American politician from the state of Maryland and is a lifelong resident of Montgomery County, Maryland. She is currently serving her third term as one of three members of the House of Delegates from Maryland's 14th District, which includes parts of Silver Spring, Calverton,...

 (D–Burtonsville), Heather Mizeur

Heather Mizeur

Heather R. Mizeur is an American politician from Maryland. A Democrat, she is a member of the Maryland House of Delegates, representing the state's 20th district in Montgomery County.-Background:...

 (D–Takoma Park), Maggie McIntosh

Maggie McIntosh

Margaret L. McIntosh, commonly known as Maggie McIntosh, is an American politician from the state of Maryland. The Chairman of the Environmental Matters Committee of the Maryland House of Delegates, she has been a member of the House of Delegates since November 1992...

 (D–Baltimore), Mary L. Washington

Mary L. Washington

Mary L. Washington is an American politician from Baltimore, Maryland. A Democrat, she was elected to the Maryland House of Delegates in 2010, representing the state's 43rd district. She took office on January 12, 2011.-Early life and career:...

 (D–Baltimore), Bonnie Cullison

Bonnie Cullison

Bonnie Cullison is an American teacher, labor official and politician from Montgomery County, Maryland. A Democrat, she was elected to the Maryland House of Delegates in 2010, representing the state's 19th district. She took office on January 12, 2011.-Early life and career:Raised in St...

 (D–Silver Spring) and Luke Clippinger

Luke Clippinger

Luke Clippinger is an American politician and lawyer from Maryland. A Democrat, he was elected to the Maryland House of Delegates in 2010, representing the state's 46th district in Baltimore...

(D–Baltimore).

He is a divorced father of two daughters.

External links

• Maryland legislature: Del. Peter Murphy
• delegatepetermurphy.com Official web site