Senator Danny Britt
LAURINBURG—The Scotland County Republican Party welcomed Senator Danny Britt as their keynote speaker during Monday night’s monthly meeting. Britt will be running for the newly formed 24th District of the North Carolina State Senate comprised of Scotland, Hoke, and Robeson Counties.
Born in Robeson County, Britt is the son of a textile worker and enlisted in the Army National Guard at the age of 17 and served 25 years with deployments to Iraq and Kuwait. Britt currently serves as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Army National Guard. He was an undergrad at Appalachian State University where he played defensive back, then attended law school in Oklahoma, and now works as an attorney with over 10 years of experience in private practice and 5 years as a prosecutor. He is also a Former Deacon and Active Member of Lumberton First Presbyterian Church in Lumberton.
Britt currently serves on 15 state and interim committees. He has been committed to working on criminal justice issues throughout his time in the senate. One of Britt’s greatest legislative accomplishments is Senate Bill 300, which was signed into law in September. This bill takes several steps to improve police accountability while also providing increased resources for law enforcement officers. Additionally, it increases mental health resources for officers and creates a duty for officers to report any excessive use of force violation by other officers. Britt was recognized as ‘Tar Heel of the Month’ by the News and Observer for his work on this legislation.
Britt was also instrumental in passing Senate Bill 562, the Second Chance Act, which became law in June 2020. This bill makes it easier for non-violent offenders to receive expunctions for certain criminal offenses. He also sponsored a bill that allows judges to use discretion in sentencing non-violent offenders. It also allows those currently serving sentences to file motions to have them reduced.
During Monday’s meeting, Britt remarked on the changing dynamics in Raleigh, and how the Research Triangle is becoming more and more like California and New York, and many times the ideas espoused by the progressive movement there conflicts with the ideals of rural North Carolinians. Regarding the upcoming elections, Britt said a lot of North Carolinians complain to him about the governor’s policies, especially the mask mandates. Britt stressed that if you want to make a change, you have to do more than just vote. You have to work the polls, volunteer to be a poll observer, sign up to knock on doors, etc. This is especially important with the judicial races, as time and again partisan judges override the legislative members who were elected to do the job. He used the voter ID vote in 2016 as an example, where nearly 70% of North Carolinians voted in favor of voter ID, yet one partisan judge was able to override the will of the people.
“We are going to miss Tom McInnis” said Joe Patton, Scotland County GOP Digital Director. “Tom did so much for our community, especially with his efforts to generate more industry by expanding the Laurinburg-Maxton Airport, and his efforts to increase educational and workforce training opportunities at the RCC Scotland campus. We know Tom will bring that same energy and productivity to his new district. But we are also lucky to have Danny, who is already a proven leader with a winning track record of getting things done at the state level to help rural North Carolinians. We have unique challenges in Scotland County, and we have no doubt he will be an incredible fighter and advocate for us in the future.”
The Scotland County Republican Party meets every fourth Monday of the month at 7 p.m. at the GOP Headquarters located on US 15/401 Bypass, Laurinburg. They also invite everyone to their annual convention which will be held March 28 at the same time and location, with Representative John Szoka, US House of Representatives, as the keynote speakers.