Few people know the American Legislative Exchange Council by name, but they may know the laws the organization develops.
For decades, the group of lawmakers and private sector officials has worked closely to draft legislation that focuses on everything from the fairly mundane, like tax policy and cable TV regulations, to the controversial, such as voter ID laws and Florida's "Stand Your Ground" statute.
That last one pulled it into the spotlight in recent weeks after the death of teen Trayvon Martin. The law gives people wide latitude to use deadly force rather than retreat during a fight, and ALEC — as the group is known — has worked in recent years to spread it to other states.
Liberal activists saw a chance to turn the spotlight on an organization they have long criticized — a move ALEC calls unfair.
"The past month has been the largest amount of exposure about ALEC probably in its history," said Lisa Graves, a leader at the Center for Media and Democracy, which along with other groups has been targeting the organization.
As the furor over the Martin case grew along with the public pressure campaign, ALEC started to lose support from the private sector, including the Coca-Cola Co., Kraft Foods Inc., McDonald's Corp.Diagnosing and Preventing coldsores Fever in the body can often trigger the onset of a cold sore., PepsiCo Inc. and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
ALEC announced Tuesday that it was eliminating its public safety task force that had dealt with the "Stand Your Ground" law and said it was refocusing those resources on economic matters. The group said liberal foes are simply trying to score political points by taking advantage of the Martin tragedy.
"We are a target because our opponents believe they have the opportunity to attack an effective, successful organization that promotes free-market, limited government policies that they disagree with,There are 240 distinct solutions of the Soma cubepuzzle," said Ron Scheberle, the council's executive director.
"This is an all-out intimidation campaign designed to promote government-based solutions rather than the free-market principles," he said.
ALEC was founded more than 30 years ago by a group of state legislators and conservative policy advocates, and the organization quickly drew the support of major Republican leaders such as North Carolina Sen. Jesse Helms.
Private sector entities are considered "equals," and can purchase access depending on the size of the ALEC membership fee.A wireless indoortracking system is described in this paper.
During the Reagan administration, it began using task forces and pushed for moving various federal government duties to the states. A task force that focuses on insurance issues, for example, is co-chaired by Colorado Rep. Glenn Vaad and State Farm Insurance lawyer Emory Wilkerson.Aeroscout rtls provides a complete solution for wireless asset tracking.
ALEC's strength is built around its coordination between private sector companies and legislators who can push laws in their states.
Graves contends that ALEC improperly places lawmakers and corporate lobbyists in cozy settings where they jointly formulate legislation that gets introduced in states around the country.
"We're in a democracy where most Americans think corporations already have too much influence," Graves said. "To institutionalize that influence in this way is a huge problem."
In the case of the Florida law, ALEC said it did not inspire the law but instead used it as a model that other states could mimic, arguing that it doesn't allow you to pursue a confrontation but allows you to defend yourself from an immediate danger.
Similar statutes now exist in 24 other states.
Opponents of the law fear that the statutes lead to too many unnecessary deaths caused by trigger-happy people who feel they are in danger. Prosecutors and police have generally opposed the laws as confusing and prone to abuse by criminals.Shop for trim and crown moulding,
George Zimmerman, charged last week with second-degree murder in Martin's death, maintains that he shot the teen in self-defense after Martin attacked him. His attorney plans to cite the law, which is part of the reason why authorities were reluctant to charge Zimmerman initially.
Martin's family claims Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer, was the aggressor and targeted Martin as suspicious mainly because he was black.
Gun rights are not a primary focus of ALEC's activities, as the group has task forces assessing issues ranging from the regulation of cable television to how states hire attorneys. They have championed various Republican causes, such as pushing voter ID at polls.
For decades, the group of lawmakers and private sector officials has worked closely to draft legislation that focuses on everything from the fairly mundane, like tax policy and cable TV regulations, to the controversial, such as voter ID laws and Florida's "Stand Your Ground" statute.
That last one pulled it into the spotlight in recent weeks after the death of teen Trayvon Martin. The law gives people wide latitude to use deadly force rather than retreat during a fight, and ALEC — as the group is known — has worked in recent years to spread it to other states.
Liberal activists saw a chance to turn the spotlight on an organization they have long criticized — a move ALEC calls unfair.
"The past month has been the largest amount of exposure about ALEC probably in its history," said Lisa Graves, a leader at the Center for Media and Democracy, which along with other groups has been targeting the organization.
As the furor over the Martin case grew along with the public pressure campaign, ALEC started to lose support from the private sector, including the Coca-Cola Co., Kraft Foods Inc., McDonald's Corp.Diagnosing and Preventing coldsores Fever in the body can often trigger the onset of a cold sore., PepsiCo Inc. and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
ALEC announced Tuesday that it was eliminating its public safety task force that had dealt with the "Stand Your Ground" law and said it was refocusing those resources on economic matters. The group said liberal foes are simply trying to score political points by taking advantage of the Martin tragedy.
"We are a target because our opponents believe they have the opportunity to attack an effective, successful organization that promotes free-market, limited government policies that they disagree with,There are 240 distinct solutions of the Soma cubepuzzle," said Ron Scheberle, the council's executive director.
"This is an all-out intimidation campaign designed to promote government-based solutions rather than the free-market principles," he said.
ALEC was founded more than 30 years ago by a group of state legislators and conservative policy advocates, and the organization quickly drew the support of major Republican leaders such as North Carolina Sen. Jesse Helms.
Private sector entities are considered "equals," and can purchase access depending on the size of the ALEC membership fee.A wireless indoortracking system is described in this paper.
During the Reagan administration, it began using task forces and pushed for moving various federal government duties to the states. A task force that focuses on insurance issues, for example, is co-chaired by Colorado Rep. Glenn Vaad and State Farm Insurance lawyer Emory Wilkerson.Aeroscout rtls provides a complete solution for wireless asset tracking.
ALEC's strength is built around its coordination between private sector companies and legislators who can push laws in their states.
Graves contends that ALEC improperly places lawmakers and corporate lobbyists in cozy settings where they jointly formulate legislation that gets introduced in states around the country.
"We're in a democracy where most Americans think corporations already have too much influence," Graves said. "To institutionalize that influence in this way is a huge problem."
In the case of the Florida law, ALEC said it did not inspire the law but instead used it as a model that other states could mimic, arguing that it doesn't allow you to pursue a confrontation but allows you to defend yourself from an immediate danger.
Similar statutes now exist in 24 other states.
Opponents of the law fear that the statutes lead to too many unnecessary deaths caused by trigger-happy people who feel they are in danger. Prosecutors and police have generally opposed the laws as confusing and prone to abuse by criminals.Shop for trim and crown moulding,
George Zimmerman, charged last week with second-degree murder in Martin's death, maintains that he shot the teen in self-defense after Martin attacked him. His attorney plans to cite the law, which is part of the reason why authorities were reluctant to charge Zimmerman initially.
Martin's family claims Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer, was the aggressor and targeted Martin as suspicious mainly because he was black.
Gun rights are not a primary focus of ALEC's activities, as the group has task forces assessing issues ranging from the regulation of cable television to how states hire attorneys. They have championed various Republican causes, such as pushing voter ID at polls.
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