Senator Danny Britt (R-13)’s week started with Democratic Senators upholding all of Governor Cooper’s veto, including Senate Bill 105 of which he was a primary sponsor, and ended with him violating the first amendment. 

After criticizing Sen. Jay Chaudhuri for eating with his wife without a mask on, Senator Britt revealed on Friday afternoon in a now deleted tweet said that he had been the Senator who had tested positive for Coronavirus and admitted to rarely wearing a mask due to an unnamed medical condition. 

“Day after day, I worked with Republicans in the General Assembly who refused to acknowledge the gravity of this pandemic,” said Senate Democratic Leader Dan Blue. “No masks, no social distancing, and no real concern for others as they conducted the people’s business. No amount of discussions or letters will change the minds of those who don’t believe health experts.” 

Medical knowledge indicates that there are very few conditions which prevent the wearing of a mask, and if that person suffers from such difficulty breathing they should not be exposing themselves to possible infection by participating in large gatherings. Despite the growing number of COVID-19 cases across the state, including over 1,600 cases and 43 deaths in Robeson County, Britt eschewed state and federal guidelines to wear a mask and maintain social distancing. 

“Wearing a mask is just as much about protecting others as it is protecting yourself,” said Senate Democratic Caucus Executive Director, Ryan Deeter. “If Senator Britt didn’t want to wear a mask he could have petitioned Senator Berger to extend proxy voting and allowed all Senators to vote safely from home. Britt’s refusal to consider those around him, even with the basic step of wearing a mask, exposed his colleagues, staff and members of the press to a virus that has taken the lives of more than 130,000 Americans.”

After an immediate twitter backlash, particularly criticizing him for his refusal to wear a mask, Senator Britt deleted the tweet and went on a blocking rampage, including blocking Senator Wiley Nickel and a News & Observer journalist.