Alex Murray

    

The Honorable Alex Murray
Leader of the Inland Empire Christian Democratic Party
Incumbent
Assumed office August 2, 2017
Preceded by	Michael Clark
Member of the Inland Empire Provincial Assembly for the 87th district
Incumbent
Assumed office November 6, 2014
Preceded by	Jack Miller
Personal details
Born	Alexander Joseph Murray (1966-12-09) December 9, 1966 Pawnee, Inland Empire, Sierra, Kingdom of Sierra
Political party	Christian Democratic
Spouse(s)	Claudia Murray (m. 1991)
Children	2
Education	University of Sierra, Riverside
Occupation	Politician
Religion	Avignonese Catholic

Alexander Joseph Murray (born December 9, 1966) is a Sierran politician serving as a member of the Inland Empire Provincial Assembly for the 87th district since 2014. A member of the Christian Democratic Party, Murray has been the leader of the Inland Empire Christian Democratic Party since 2017 and has been credited with an increase in electoral successes, media attention, membership, and support for the party within the Inland Empire under his leadership since being elected in 2017.

Outside of his home province, Alex Murray is best known for being a prominent member of the Christian Democrats' conservative faction having publically supported socially conservative policies such as restrictions on abortion, opposing the legalization of same-sex marriage while backing civil unions for same-sex couples, and opposing drug liberalization among other positions. Since 2021, he has vocally supported the National Christian Conference in the House of Commons and supports the party adopting a more conservative and right-wing direction to counter the increasingly moderate stance by the Royalist Party.

Early life and education

Alexander Joseph Murray was born on 9 December 1966 in Pawnee. His mother was a nurse and worked at a local hospital while his father was a priest at a local Avigonese Catholic Church, one where Murray himself attended in his youth and was a member of its local choir for at least four years between the ages of 9 and 13. He attended the University of Sierra, Riverside in the provincial capital of Riverside after graduating highschool where he studied law and politics. Due to his Avignonese Catholic upbringing, he would develop conservative political positions, but they wouldn't be fully developed until later in life, admitting in a 2017 interview that he was a "small-c conservative" when he was in college and was only partially aware of politics. While he would vote for the Royalist Party in several federal elections starting in 1992, he never fully joined the party stating that he never felt a desire to do so saying that the party only did the "bare minimum" to earn his vote, but not full membership.

Political career

Christian Democratic provincial leader

Further information: 2017 Inland Empire Christian Democratic Party leadership election

Political positions

Abortion

Alex Murray identifies as "pro-life" and has supported anti-abortion legislation in the provincial assembly since being elected. He's denounced the practice of abortion as an "afront to human life" and has denounced it as murder. In 2019, he supported legislation to ban abortion after fifteen weeks with the exception of rape, incest, medical ailments and life of the mother, all of which he has supported as viable reasons to get an abortion. Murray supported a controversial heartbeat bill in 2020 that failed to pass due to concerns of it being blocked by the Inland Empire Supreme Court or the wider K.S. Supreme Court and has not rescinded his support for such legislation. Since 2021, he has been a member of the Sierran National Right to Life Committee, the largest and oldest anti-abortion organization in Sierra and was named the chair of its Inland Empire chapter in 2022.

Gun ownership

Murray is a supporter of gun rights and has called it one of "the most important rights for all Sierrans". He opposes most forms of gun control and has accused gun control organizations such as Sierrans for Gun Safety and the National Gun Safety Alliance of pushing "naive and inneffective" policies. Murray has supported some policies such as background checks and mental health screenings before completing a gun purchase and cancelling them if the person is deemed unelligable for possessing a firearm. In 2021, he accused Susan Kwon of seeking to "make Sierrans defenseless" due to her gun control legislation and accused it of federal overreach. Since 2016, he has been a member of the National Rifle Association of Sierra.

Devolution

Murray is a supporter of devolution, calling it an "essential tool for autonomy and freedom". Much of his opposition towards most modern liberal and progressive laws and legislation, both on the provincial and federal level, has stemed from his support for devolution. In 2022, he voiced opposition towards Boulangier v. the Deseret which ruled that the right to same-sex marriage was protected by the Due Process Clause of the K.S. constitution and overturned all pre-existing bans on same-sex marriage, including the law in the Deseret that had banned it originally, denouncing it as an attack on devolution and accusing Kwon and the Supreme Court of threatening to "assert compelete control" over all forms political and instutional authority in Sierra.

Personal life

Both Alex and the Murray family grew up in a religious household that are adherents towards the Avignonese Catholic Church. Since his baptism, Murray has been a member of the Avignonese Catholic Church and identifies as a practicing Catholic, frequently attending church every Sunday for morning services. Since 1991, he has been married to Claire Murray and has two children as of 2022, all of whom are Avignonese Catholic and stated in 2019 that he raises his children in the same environment as his parents. Murray is of Scottish descent while his wife is of French descent.