28-year-old self-appointed "neighborhood watch vigilante"
---
only a minority or criminal would make such a statement
On Mar 30, 9:51 am, Tommy News <tommysn...@gmail.com> wrote:
> How The Right Wing "ALEC" Teamed Up With The NRA To Get Copycat,
> "Stand Your Ground" Laws In 21 States
> The Florida 'stand-your-ground' law "is the template for an American
> Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) 'model bill' that has been pushed
> in other states."
> March 25, 2012 |
>
> There is little doubt that it was George Zimmerman, a
> 28-year-old self-appointed "neighborhood watch vigilante," who shot
> and killed the 17-year-old Trayvon Martin last month as he "returned
> from a trip to 7-11 with an iced tea and a pack of Skittles."
>
> Less known is the relationship between the Florida "stand your ground"
> law, which may allow the killer of Trayvon Martin to walk free, and a
> powerful but private, behind-the-scenes organization that has
> channeled such bills into the legislatures of Florida and other
> states.
>
> The Florida law that is drawing such sudden attention due to the death
> of a teenager in Sanford "is the template for an American Legislative
> Exchange Council (ALEC) 'model bill' that has been pushed in other
> states," PR Watch's Brendan Fischer recently reported.
>
> Fischer says that "Evidence suggests a major reason Zimmerman thought
> he needed to use deadly force against the unarmed Martin is because
> the teen was black... Zimmerman has not been charged with any crime."
>
> According to Fischer, "The bill was brought to ALEC by the National
> Rifle Association (NRA), and fits into a pattern of ALEC bills that
> disproportionately impact communities of color."
>
> It is no surprise that ALEC is hardly a household name. The American
> Legislative Exchange Council, (ALEC) prefers to do its business in
> secret. And since ALEC's founding in 1973 by Paul Weyrich (who
> co-founded the Heritage Foundation and is widely considered to be one
> of the Godfathers of the New Right); former Illinois Republican
> Congressman Henry Hyde; and conservative activist Lou Barnett, the
> organization has successfully stayed out of the spotlight.
>
> If it weren't for the resolute reporting of a handful of investigative
> journalists and the extraordinary work of the Center for Media and
> Democracy's ALEC Exposed Web site, not much would be known about ALEC.
>
> Source Watch, a project of the Wisconsin-based Center for Media and
> Democracy, described ALEC as a "semi-secretive" organization that "has
> been highly influential, has operated quietly in the United States for
> decades, and received remarkably little scrutiny from journalists,
> media or members of the public during that time." A report by the
> American Association for Justice, titled "ALEC: Ghostwriting the Law
> for Corporate America" described the organization as "the ultimate
> smoke filled back room."
>
> As John Nichols recently pointed out in The Nation, "the shadowy Koch
> brothers-funded network ... brings together right-wing legislators
> with corporate interests and pressure groups to craft so-called 'model
> legislation.'" And while ALEC is predominantly concerned with cutting
> tax rates for corporations and wealthy individuals, privatization,
> de-regulation, and weakening, if not eliminating unions, it "also
> dabbles in electoral and public safety issues. And 'Stand Your Ground'
> proposals have for seven years been on its agenda."
>
> Last year, when Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker unleashed an
> unprecedented attack on public workers in that state, and
> Republican-controlled state legislatures around the country began its
> assault on voting rights, ALEC's fingerprints were all over those
> initiatives.
>
> From the NRA to ALEC to the states
>
> John Nichols recently reported in The Nation that "The National Rifle
> Association led the advocacy on behalf of the proposal, [which was
> signed into law by then-Governor Jeb Bush] arguing that it was needed
> to provide immunity to gunmen who might use deadly force against
> unarmed individuals who they imagine to be threatening.
>
> Media Matters recently pointed out that the language in "Florida's
> statute on the use of force in self-defense is virtually identical to
> Section 1 of ALEC's Castle Doctrine Act model legislation":
>
> The Florida law states:
>
> (3) A person who is not engaged in an unlawful activity and who is
> attacked in any other place where he or she has a right to be has no
> duty to retreat and has the right to stand his or her ground and meet
> force with force, including deadly force if he or she reasonably
> believes it is necessary to do so to prevent death or great bodily
> harm to himself or herself or another or to prevent the commission of
> a forcible felony.
>
> According to Media Matters, "The language is identical to ALEC's
> Castle Doctrine Act model legislation, which they have been working
> hand in hand with the NRA to pass across the country":
>
> 3. A person who is not engaged in an unlawful activity and who is
> attacked in any other place [other than their dwelling, residence, or
> vehicle] where he or she has a right to be has no duty to retreat and
> has the right to stand his or her ground and meet force with force,
> including deadly force, if he or she reasonably believes it is
> necessary to do so to prevent death or great bodily harm to himself or
> herself or another, or to prevent the commission of a forcible felony.
>
> "In a 2008 interview with NRA News," Media Matters noted, "ALEC
> resident fellow Michael Hough explained how his organization works
> with the NRA to push similar legislation through its network of
> conservative state legislators:
>
> HOUGH: We are a very pro-Second Amendment organization. In fact, last
> session, I'll get off-topic here real quick, but some of the things
> that we were pushing in states was the Castle Doctrine. We worked with
> the NRA on that, that's one of our model bills that we have states
> introduce.
>
> A 2002 report from Defenders of Wildlife and the Natural Resources
> Defense Council titled "Corporate America's Trojan Horse in the
> States: The Untold Story Behind the American Legislative Exchange
> Council," found that "the NRA is a longtime funder of ALEC." "In
> 1993," the report states, "ALEC adopted a resolution expressing its
> opposition to a waiting period to buy firearms and a ban on
> semiautomatic firearms. 'The administration and Congress should take a
> hard look at ALEC's resolution,' James Baker, the executive director
> of the National Rifle Association's Institute for Legislative Action,
> said."
>
> SourceWatch points out that "The NRA was a 'Vice-Chairman' level
> sponsor of 2011 American Legislative Exchange Council Annual
> Conference, which in 2010, equated to $25,000," and that an NRA
> operative was "the co-chair of ALEC's Public Safety and Elections Task
> Force for a number of years, until the Spring of 2011.
>
> Despite its modus operandi of secrecy and backroom dealing, every once
> in a while something so egregious happens that ALEC is forced out of
> the shadows. Investigations surrounding the cold-blooded killing of
> Trayvon Martin by a self-styled vigilante, could push ALEC out into
> the open.
>
> More:http://www.alternet.org/story/154689/how_the_right_wing_%22alec%22_te...
>
> --
> Together, we can change the world, one mind at a time.
> Have a great day,
> Tommy
>
> --
> Together, we can change the world, one mind at a time.
> Have a great day,
> Tommy
--
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