27 Facts About Carolyn McCarthy

Carolyn McCarthy is an American politician who served as the US representative for from 1997 to 2015.

McCarthy was born Carolyn Cook in Brooklyn, New York, and was raised in Mineola, a suburban area on Long Island about twenty miles outside Manhattan.

Carolyn McCarthy's father was a boilermaker and her mother worked at Woolworth.

Carolyn McCarthy responded to the crime by launching a campaign for more stringent gun control that eventually propelled her to Congress in 1996 on the Democratic ticket.

Carolyn McCarthy defeated freshman Republican Dan Frisa by a large margin.

Carolyn McCarthy made attempts to broaden her policy portfolio, but was never able to entirely shed the label of being a one-issue congresswoman.

Carolyn McCarthy acknowledged this, saying in 2009 that although she is known for her education and district work, she is still the "gun lady".

Carolyn McCarthy was a registered Republican before her first run for Congress, although she ran for office as a Democrat and "evolved" over the years into a reliable Democratic vote.

Carolyn McCarthy voted with her party 98.1 percent of the time during the 111th Congress.

Carolyn McCarthy was one of the nation's most vocal gun control advocates.

Later that year, Carolyn McCarthy unsuccessfully opposed a Treasury bill provision that allowed the importation of weapons that had been modified in order to be compliant with the federal assault weapons ban.

Carolyn McCarthy said her next priority was closing the gun show loophole.

Carolyn McCarthy voted in favor of the Iraq War Resolution in 2002.

Carolyn McCarthy is one of the strongest advocates of hearing loss detection, prevention, and treatment.

In 1997, Carolyn McCarthy voted against a ban on late-term abortions.

In 2003, Carolyn McCarthy introduced legislation prohibiting companies from compelling the retirement of older employees and denying them pension and benefits.

Carolyn McCarthy, who has dyslexia, testified in support of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and co-sponsored an act to fund early detection of dyslexia.

In September 2007, Carolyn McCarthy supported an increase of $35 billion for the State Children's Health Insurance Program, the national program to provide health care for children from families who earn too much to qualify for Medicaid but cannot afford private health insurance.

Carolyn McCarthy was a supporter of federally funded stem cell research but restricted to the use of embryos that would be discarded.

On November 4,1999, Carolyn McCarthy voted in favor of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act.

In 1996, the district's first-term Republican incumbent Dan Frisa was running for re-election at the time that Carolyn McCarthy testified at a congressional hearing against an ultimately unsuccessful Republican attempt to repeal the Federal Assault Weapons Ban in a congressional hearing.

So, with the support of the local and national Democratic parties, and the endorsement of Newsday, the local daily newspaper, Carolyn McCarthy ran as a Democrat and defeated Frisa by seventeen points.

Carolyn McCarthy faced a close fight for reelection in 1998 against state assemblyman Gregory Becker.

On Hardball, Carolyn McCarthy said that she thought Gillibrand was working for the NRA.

On June 4,2009 Carolyn McCarthy announced that she would not mount a primary challenge to Gillibrand.

Carolyn McCarthy announced on June 3,2013, that she has a treatable form of lung cancer.

On November 8,2013, it was reported that Carolyn McCarthy, who had smoked cigarettes for 40 years, was suing more than 70 companies claiming that she had developed lung cancer from asbestos.