The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) announced on Tuesday that it would disband its task force that pushed legislation such as the Stand Your Ground laws and the voter-ID laws. The “Public Safety and Elections” task force of ALEC focused on non-economic issues and most recently gained attention for its advocacy of the Stand Your ground laws. The Stand Your Ground law in Florida is being cited as a defense by George Zimmerman, the man charged with second-degree murder in the shooting death of 17-year old Trayvon Martin. In recent days, corporations have been cutting ties with ALEC as a result of the Trayvon Martin Case.
Although the task force has been eliminated, ALEC announced that it will continue to focus on economic issues. Kaitlyn Buss, a spokeswoman for ALEC told Time Magazine Time Magazine that “our mission is to promote [free market] principles and policies that are based on them.”
Many of the groups that spoke out against ALEC have said the elimination of the task force is not enough. ColorofChange Executive Director, Rashad Robinson said, “ALEC’s latest statement is nothing more than a PR stunt aimed at diverting attention from its agenda, which has done serious damage to our communities. To simply say they are stopping noneconomic work does not provide justice to the millions of Americans whose lives are impacted by these dangerous and discriminatory laws, courtesy of ALEC and its corporate backers.”
Time 4/17/12; CBS News 4/17/12; the Nation 4/17/12
