The Center for Security Policy, a conservative national security think tank, on Monday announced that it had awarded two Alabama lawmakers with its “Defender of Freedom” award.
State Reps. Chip Brown (R-Hollinger’s Island) and Shane Stringer (R-Citronelle) are the center’s 2021 awardees of the annual recognition.
According to the center, the recognition is bestowed upon public servants who partake in service and support issues relating to national security. State lawmakers are awarded the honor for their legislative work in confronting threats posed to the United States.
In awarding Brown and Stringer with the honor, the center noted the lawmakers’ sponsorship of legislation regarding “true and proper” bail reform and their efforts to criminalize the practice of doxing, which is the act of publishing sensitive information with the intention of intimidation.
The center stated in a release, “Both efforts are key in dealing effectively with insurrectionist activity and rioting as was seen during the 2020 presidential election when rioters in many locales across America were released without bail and members of Antifa acquired the personal information of law enforcement officers and released it publicly, including reading home addresses aloud over megaphones at riots.”
Brown formerly partook in active duty service as a member of the Alabama National Guard during the Global War on Terror. He was deployed twice to Afghanistan as an advisor for the U.S. military and NATO.
Stringer, a former captain for the Mobile County Sheriff’s Department, held an extensive career in law enforcement.
The Center for Security Policy’s state outreach director Christopher Helton proclaimed that both lawmakers were “among the most dedicated public officials I have had the honor of meeting,” adding that they were “men who fight for public safety and law and order in Alabama.”
Three Alabama legislators have now been awarded with the honor as Brown and Stringer join State Sen. Gerald Allen (R-Tuscaloosa) in receiving the recognition.
Dylan Smith is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanSmithAL
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