BREAKING: Intuit Out of ALEC; Coke, Kraft, Pepsi, too, while Koch Stands Ground
A stampede seems to be on the way as more and more groups break ties and dump ALEC.
A stampede seems to be on the way as more and more groups break ties and dump ALEC.
Public interest groups campaigning to convince Coca-Cola to break ties with the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) scored a major victory yesterday when Coke announced it had "elected to discontinue its membership with" ALEC.
According to a statement Coke made to the Washington Examiner, "Our involvement with ALEC was focused on efforts to oppose discriminatory food and beverage taxes, not on issues that have no direct bearing on our business. We have a long-standing policy of only taking positions on issues that impact our Company and industry."
Presidential candidate Rick Santorum believes that the only reason a person does not have a government-issued photo ID is because they "want to continue to perpetrate fraud," according to statements he made in Wisconsin last month. Approximately 5 million "perpetrators" nationally do not have photo ID, with around 220,000 in Wisconsin.
The killing of Trayvon Martin brought hundreds of people to the headquarters of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) Thursday to rally against the extremist legislation that the organization pushes, and the deadly real-life consequences it has. George Zimmerman, who shot and killed 17-year-old Martin in February, could be protected by Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law, which was later ratified by ALEC as a model for other states and supported in over two dozen legislatures by numerous ALEC politicians.
The "Stand Your Ground" or "Shoot First" law that may protect the man who shot and killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in February is the template for an American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) "model bill" that has been pushed in dozens of other states.
On March 29, a diverse coalition of advocacy organizations, activists, and national leaders protested the American Legislative Exchange Council's (ALEC) paid promotion of deadly "Kill at Will" legislation written by the National Rifle Association (NRA). The attendees delivered a letter to ALEC headquarters at 1100 Vermont Ave, NW in Washington demanding that the group disclose all NRA funding and publicly pledge to end its promotion of "Kill at Will" bills.
Organizing sponsors include the National Urban League, NAACP, ColorOfChange, Moveon.org, AFL-CIO, SEIU, ProgressNow, Center for Media and Democracy/ALECexposed.org, Presente, Public Campaign, Common Cause, People For the American Way, UltraViolet, Faith in Public Life, National Council of Churches, USAction, and more.
MEDIA ADVISORY, March 28, 2012
CONTACT: Tim Rusch, 917.399.0236, Tim@fitzgibbonmedia.com, Naomi Seligman, 310.617.4577, Naomi@FitzGibbonMedia.com
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Rally Against ALEC "KILL AT WILL" Laws that are Protecting Trayvon's Shooter
Prominent National Organizations Urge ALEC to Disavow Lethal Law after Murder of Florida Teen -- Will Deliver Demand Letter to DC Headquarters
WASHINGTON, DC -- On March 29, a diverse coalition of advocacy organizations, activists, and national leaders will protest the American Legislative Exchange Council's (ALEC) paid promotion of deadly "Kill at Will" legislation written by the National Rifle Association (NRA). The attendees will also deliver a letter to ALEC headquarters at 1100 Vermont Ave, NW in Washington demanding that the group disclose all NRA funding and publicly pledge to end its promotion of "Kill at Will" bills.
The gun lobby has come under the spotlight for its role in the so-called "Stand Your Ground" or "Shoot First" law that may protect the man who shot and killed seventeen-year-old Trayvon Martin in Florida -- but many other special interests, including household names like Kraft Foods and Wal-Mart, also helped facilitate the spread of these and other laws by funding the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).
The Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) joined with United Republic, Rebuild the Dream and ColorofChange.org in a letter to the 20 members of the "Private Enterprise Board" of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). The letter asks the corporations to sever ties with ALEC and end their financial support of the organization. The request is made out of respect for Trayvon Martin, an unarmed 17-year old who was shot and killed in Florida last month. Trayvon's killer could be protected from justice under a Florida "Stand Your Ground" law that became a template for an ALEC model bill introduced and adopted in over 20 states.
MADISON --The Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) filed a complaint today with the Government Accountability Board (GAB) based on newly discovered documents revealing that numerous Wisconsin legislators have received corporate-funded gifts through their connections to the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). Although ALEC describes itself as the largest membership group for legislators, over 98% of its $7 million budget is from corporations and sources other than legislative dues. Documents obtained via Wisconsin open records law and other sources show that ALEC corporations are funding lawmakers' out-of-state travel expenses to posh resorts for ALEC meetings with corporate lobbyists, in addition to gifts of entertainment and exclusive parties.
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