ALEC Pushing Gun Agenda Despite Promise To Stop - The Guardian

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Thousands gathered during a rally in downtown Chicago outside the hotel where
Alec hold their 40th convention. Photograph: James Fassinger/For the Guardian
The American Legislative Exchange Council, a secretive alliance of big
businesses and largely Republican state legislators who co-operate to
push a right-wing political agenda in the American hinterland, is
continuing to wield outsized influence over gun laws across the US
despite its promise in the wake of the Trayvon Martin furore to stop
operating in this area.
As protesters gathered outside Alec's 40th annual gathering of
lawmakers and corporate interests in Chicago, a new watchdog report
finds that stand-your-ground laws of the sort forwarded by the group and
made infamous by the Martin killing are still proliferating around the
country. Last year, Alec came under intense criticism that its model
stand-your-ground law, first adopted in Florida in 2005 having been
drafted by the National Rifle Association, had prevented the arrest of
George Zimmerman, Martin's shooter, and made his prosecution more
difficult.
In the wake of the controversy, the group disbanded its "public safety
and elections" taskforce that had been lobbying for stand-your-ground
laws and for the spread of voter ID laws that restrict voter registration
and make it harder for black, elderly and poor voters to cast their ballots.
But the new report from the Center for Media and Democracy finds that
the group's hand can still be felt across the US with the ongoing creep of
stand-your-ground and regressive electoral laws.
The report chronicles how no fewer than 62 stand-your-ground and voter
ID laws have been introduced so far this year based to some degree on
model bills framed by Alec. That includes 10 stand-your-ground bills,
passed in two states and 52 legislative moves to restrict voter access
adopted by five states.
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US lobbying group Alec pushing pro-
gun agenda despite promise to stop
American Legislative Exchange Council, group behind stand-your-
ground laws, vowed change in wake of Trayvon Martin case
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ALEC (American Legislative Exchange Council)
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ALEC (American
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gun control United
States Florida Trayvon
Martin
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Conservative group
Alec trains sights on
city and local
government
American Legislative
Exchange Council
forms new initiative to
target 'villages, towns,
cities and counties'
ALEC facing funding
crisis from donor
exodus in wake of
Trayvon Martin row
ALEC calls for
penalties on 'freerider'
homeowners in assault
on clean energy
Obamacare faces new
threat at state level from
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A protester is pinned to the ground and arrested during a rally in downtown Chicago
outside the Palmer House Hilton Hotel where Alec were meeting Photograph:
James Fassinger/For the Guardian
"Florida's 'shoot-first' law an Alec model bill shielded George
Zimmerman from arrest for six weeks and ensured law enforcement failed
to conduct a proper investigation," said Rashad Robinson of
ColorOfChange in a press conference to launch the new report. "Alec
now says they don't work on shoot-first laws or voter ID laws, but these
laws continue to exist around the country, putting black folks in harm's
way, and Alec are doing nothing to clean up the mess."
The annual gathering in Chicago of Alec members both state-level
politicians and business executives is the 40th such meeting. Founded
in 1973, the group remained largely under the radar until two years ago
when a whistleblower disclosed 800 of its model bills.
Chris Taylor, a state representative in Wisconsin, has been attending the
Chicago gathering having paid the $575 registration fee out of her own
pocket. She said there remained a "shroud of secrecy" around the event,
with very little media present and few details put out about the schedule
before it started on Wednesday.
Taylor said that neither gun nor electoral laws had been on the formal
agenda so far, but the NRA was well represented on the exhibition floor
as were groups touting restrictive voting legislation. "Legislators are
treated like the foot soldiers of special interests and are instructed to go
out and enact their marching orders," Taylor said.
The Center for Media and Democracy report identifies a total of 466 Alec
bills that have been introduced by state legislatures so far this year,
spanning all 50 states as well as the District of Columbia. Much of the
effort has gone into bills rolling back workers' rights including
controversial "right to work" legislation introduced in 15 states and other
attempts to block minimum wage structures.
Bills impacting state education have also been high on the agenda, with
139 Alec bills introduced and 31 enacted this year. The legislation
focused on redirecting taxpayer money from public schools to for-profit
private schools.
Legislation making it easier for energy companies to forward polluting
activities such as fossil fuel consumption and fracking were identified in
77 Alec bills so far this year.
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LeenaUSA
Alec has blood on its hands.
Why don't you tell us which businesses and legislators are part of ALEC?
Stand your ground laws need to be eliminated. Until then, boycott Florida and any
other state with them.
RIP Trayvon Martin. This was your country and it failed to give you justice.
08 August 2013 6:57pm
32
BlackDogSociety LeenaUSA
@LeenaUSA - If Florida never enacted the SYG law the verdict still would
have been not guilty. SYG simply means there is no duty to retreat if that
opportunity is available. If you cannot retreat, like in the Martin case, the
the duty to do so isn't there anyway. Changing the law because Trayvon
was killed is an over-reaction and it will not prevent the next Trayvon from
getting shot.
08 August 2013 7:42pm
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Show 19 more replies Last reply: 10 August 2013 4:49pm
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In Arkansas, where there isn't a SYG law, a man shot another man who
tried to attack him in from of the police station. The attacker turned out to
be unarmed but because of the nature of the attack and the details of the
case the jury rightfully set the shooter free. http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=NoALOGnl76A (I'd mention the race of the parties but to me that's
irrelevant) Read and understand the laws before you condemn them....
Ricosoavarooski LeenaUSA
This comment was removed by a moderator because it didn't abide by our
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FAQs.
08 August 2013 7:42pm
Justice53 LeenaUSA
Trayvon Martin case was not Stand your ground law. It was self defense
08 August 2013 10:17pm
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darquelourd
There is nothing more "Conservative" than killing a friend, family member, or co-
worker - apparently.
08 August 2013 7:08pm
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Ricosoavarooski darquelourd
So, you think the people who make up by FAR the majority of shooters and
victims are REPUBLICANS? CONSERVATIVES??????????????
08 August 2013 7:39pm
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MacRandall darquelourd
And nothing more "Liberal" than keeping guns out of the hands of
intellectuals:
We regard the whole position as one of considerable gravity.
There are two distinct categories of person from whom danger is
to be apprehended, viz., (1) the savage or semi-civilised
tribesmen in outlying parts of the British Empire, whose main
demand is for rifles and ammunition, and (2) the anarchist or
'intellectual' malcontent of the great cities, whose weapons are
the bomb and the automatic pistol.
There is some force in the view .... that the latter will in future
prove the more dangerous of the two. At any rate, his activities
will call for unceasing vigilance, and very special precautions will
be necessary to control the trade in automatic pistols, which,
apart from their extreme deadliness, are, by reason of their size
and shape, more easily smuggled than any other type of weapon.
[...]
Your obedient Servants,
15th November, 1918
ERNLEY BLACKWELL,
Chairman
08 August 2013 7:42pm
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vermontgn darquelourd
Among the many misdeeds of the British rule in India, history will
look upon the Act depriving a whole nation of arms, as the
blackest ... if we want to learn the use of arms, here is a golden
opportunity.
Mahatma Gandhi
09 August 2013 4:21am
6
slackingzac
America wants to arm Muslims in Syria with ties to people we've been told are our
enemies at the same time it's waging a secret war on its own citizens. It's very sad
that a few kids died, but I get so tired of groups using children as shields and
puppets for their cause. Kids are our future and blah blah blah, but things are bad
08 August 2013 7:14pm
13
Show 3 more replies Last reply: 09 August 2013 7:41am
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here now. By giving up more rights, these children of the future will be less free than
we are. What a gift to give them.
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hawkwoman slackingzac
Oh for Christ's sake - I'm America and I really, really DON'T want to arm
Syria, and neither do most American citizens that I know - we've had it
between Iraq and Afghanistan, thank you.
What the fuck do you know about "America"?? I'm America. The American
government may be considering it and if it comes to it, other Western
governments are already doing it.
As for the war on its own citizens - if you mean NSA surveillance, I'd check
your own intelligence service - you'll find they're all doing pretty much the
same thing.
In the meantime, although as an American I'm pretty damn fed up with my
government, it still beats being gang-raped in India while the Indian
government pretends to wring its hands but is really only concerned about
the impact on tourism.
08 August 2013 8:23pm
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slackingzac hawkwoman
I'd like to think I'm pretty American. As in born and raised, served for five
years and was honorably discharged from the Army after a tour in
Afghanistan and losing the ability to walk properly. So yeah, I feel pretty
American.
08 August 2013 10:17pm
9
hawkwoman slackingzac
Then you should know better. "America wants to arm . . ."!!!!
08 August 2013 11:50pm
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UglyAmerican66
So, self defence is no longer fashionable in the UK. No surprise, US private citizens
sent firearms to England during WWII because they had no arms. At the end of the
war they were collected and melted down. Not a role model I would choose for the
US.
08 August 2013 7:17pm
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hawkwoman UglyAmerican66
It wasn't self-defense - the kid was unarmed and Zimmerman leapt to
conclusions that he should have verified before attacking. I could take out a
gun and shoot a black teen in a hoodie unwrapping a piece of gum across
the aisle from me on bus or subway - would I be justified in doing so? I
could take out a gun and turn around and shoot any man walking behind me
on a dark street, too - after all, any woman walking home alone on a dark
street is nervous, and therefore entitled to shoot any man she hears walking
behind her, right? Even if he's 25 feet behind her and looking at his IPhone
as he ambles along?
Self-defense is when someone grabs you from behind, or starts charging at
you, or breaks into your home while you're asleep . . . not because 25 feet
away you saw a black kid in a hoodie.
If you can't tell the difference, you're the reason the argument is happening.
Crime in the UK is astronomically higher than it used to be 30 years ago -
not because self-defense is out of fashion, but because of rising tensions of
a formerly largely non-multiracial culture, a Britain whose citizens no longer
share a broad respect for law, and an economic climate that has told
everyone but the Windsors and the bankers to go screw themselves.
08 August 2013 8:19pm
17
BlackDogSociety hawkwoman
No, it was definitely self defense. Lets say you are out walking your dog
and you spot a person standing around your neighbor's vehicles, that
person spots you looking their direction and bolts, aren't you going to be
suspicious of that person? Now if you are a neighborhood watch volunteer
and you spot a person you don't know hanging around the same vehicles at
night you are going to be already suspicious. Now when they bolt you are
08 August 2013 9:05pm
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going to want to see where they went. But none of that matters to the
question of self defense. It was SD because at the time of the shooting
Trayvon was beating Zimmerman and Zimmerman could not get away an he
thought he could be killed. Sorry but that's SD in EVERY jurisdiction in the
US.
Now about crime in the UK, you do realize that rate of crime skyrocketed
right after the 1997 gun ban don't you? Sure that could be a coincident but I
don't believe in coincidences, if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck
then guess what, its a duck...
panpipes BlackDogSociety
Gun ownership in the US is down so there isn't even a correlation between
08 August 2013 9:39pm
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MacRandall
Irony Alert:
Note the CREDO logo on the sign in the background of the picture above.
Of lesser note: The continuing attempt to link "Stand Your Ground" with the
Zimmerman verdict continues to fall flat on the ears of the well educated and
reasonably intelligent.
08 August 2013 7:26pm
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Ricosoavarooski MacRandall
The photo reminds me of old "Communist Party USA protest" etc,
08 August 2013 7:37pm
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Cognizance MacRandall
Actually the reason why Zimmerman was found not guilty is directly
because of the "Stand Your Ground" Law - please see The 2012 Florida
Statutes Title XLVI Chapter 776 - JUSTIFIABLE USE OF FORCE : 776.013
Home protection; use of deadly force; presumption of fear of death or great
bodily harm. Paragraph 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."
08 August 2013 8:44pm
6
BlackDogSociety Cognizance
Since Zimmerman could not retreat the duty to do so is irrelevant, other
08 August 2013 9:16pm
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Ricosoavarooski
Rule of law --- Zimmerman was correctly "riled" by burglaries and home invasions in
his community.
08 August 2013 7:43pm
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Jenny340 Ricosoavarooski
I see some still don't understand rights come with responsibilities.
08 August 2013 7:53pm
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Ricosoavarooski Jenny340
Yes, as in the right to perambulate and the right to defend your own life and
the lives of others with a handy firearm, as Zimmerman did, however
ineptly in the event.
08 August 2013 7:58pm
5
Jenny340 Ricosoavarooski
You'll note this poster, like others of his ilk, assigns rights of citizenship
08 August 2013 8:15pm
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Ricosoavarooski
"US Group Still Pushing Gun Agenda."
Rates of violent crime have been falling for years in the USA.
Gun ownership has been increasing.
Is there some intense psychological obstacle which obtrudes between these obvious
facts and the ideological campaign to demonize gun ownership, which
on the whole saves lives?
Weird --- Guardian workers who mock others for being "hypocrites" should carefully
consider their own vulnerability to propaganda.
08 August 2013 7:56pm
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hawkwoman Ricosoavarooski
I'm glad you don't do medical research which, if it has shown us anything,
has shown us that linking two statistics as cause and effect without
comparing additional factors - such as, for example, that economic
conditions in the US during those some of those years, in the 1990s, was
much better, which always leads to a downturn in crime; revamped efforts
by law enforcement agencies - Boston and New York have both seen big
drops in crime, not due to "gun ownership" but due to restructured police
efforts . . . and of course, one must revisit comparable scenarios: Vermont,
which has always had a very low crime rate, has some of the most liberal
gun laws in the country. Its crime rate has remained static.
So, what in your psychological and intellectual makeup makes you capable
of accepting such a facile interpretation of two statistics around that a
myriad of other factors clearly influences?
It's like saying poverty went up and crime went down, so obviously poverty
is a good thing.
For decades women were told by the medical profession for example, that
hormone replacement therapy would maintain bone health, heart health, and
keep them young and juicy (the latter was the subtext). Lo and behold, a
few decades later, and women are suddenly told that they will also have a
higher risk of breast cancer with HRT, and that the research is now
uncertain on the upsides of bone and heart health.
I don't mock people who hold different views from me, but I do mock people
who accept mindlessly facile and usually erroneous conclusions that any
researcher would immediately call into question.
08 August 2013 8:10pm
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Corrections hawkwoman
imo, the biggest correlation is with age. The baby boomers have gotten
older. Violent crime is a younger man's game, and 15-30 year olds are
simply a smaller percentage of the total population now.
08 August 2013 9:33pm
3
panpipes Ricosoavarooski
The household gun ownership rate has fallen from an average of 50 percent
08 August 2013 9:37pm
2
hawkwoman
ALEC is another poster child for partitioning the nation into the states that so
obediently accept its agenda, and the states uninterested in its agenda and capable
of refusing them entry.
ALEC is part of the K Street/Wall Street/Citizens United pantheon that has taken
over the United States Congress, particularly its Republican and right-wing
components.
Those of us who despise them, their agenda, who believe them to be the corporate
equivalent of the KGB, STASI, etc., will never be rid of them unless we are able to
08 August 2013 8:02pm
11
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secede from the country whose Congress refuses to disown them.
Partition NOW.
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UglyAmerican66 hawkwoman
So, your position is that no one should take responsibility for themselves or
their families and should rely on the government for everything. . . . When
do I get my SOMA?
08 August 2013 8:29pm
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Corrections UglyAmerican66
And THAT is what you think ALEC is about? You're either a shill or a troll.
And/or naive.
08 August 2013 9:27pm
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hawkwoman UglyAmerican66
So, your position is that unelected K Street lobbyists should be writing
legislation that you thought your elected representatives were drafting; that
corporations really are people; and that Goldman Sachs, which sold
defective products to its clients and then get against those products in the
marketplace, and when the shit hit the fan got bailed out with middle-class
taxpayer money, is really a free-market capitalist hero, while I, said middle-
class American taxpayer, am really the government moocher?
Do please clarify that for us, dear troll.
08 August 2013 11:39pm
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D. Aram Mushegian II
trayvon martin had nothing at all to do with stand your ground laws.
im not supporter of SYG laws, but you are just being ignorant to try and associate
stand your ground laws with trayvon martin.
and youre not only being ignorant you are deflecting attention away from the actual
stand your grounds laws used in the case, that essentially gave george zimmerman
the opportunity to use deadly force on an unarmed teenager, with no warning.
08 August 2013 9:10pm
3
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D. Aram Mushegian II D. Aram Mushegian II
and youre not only being ignorant you are deflecting attention
away from the actual [self-defense laws] used in the case, that
essentially gave george zimmerman the opportunity to use
deadly force on an unarmed teenager, with no warning.
erm, corrected..
08 August 2013 9:14pm
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Corrections D. Aram Mushegian II
Now go away and read the instructions the judge gave to the jury. Then
come back and apologize for your ignorance.
08 August 2013 9:25pm
4
D. Aram Mushegian II Corrections
yea exactly, we want those laws changed.
08 August 2013 11:10pm
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The2ndguardsUS
MOLON LABE They will never get our guns without a bloody civil war. Even if they
manage to ban guns it will not be enforceable in most of the US.
08 August 2013 9:12pm
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Witness1 The2ndguardsUS
Really? You'll go up against a militarized police force using combat armor
and automatic weapons? You think you won't give up your guns when they
knock on your door? That is, after you've pee'd your pants.
09 August 2013 2:03am
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flaguy Witness1
Happens all over the world every year or so by people wanting to get/keep
their freedom. The government agents don't have much courage when it's
their families that are at risk
09 August 2013 2:20am
3
EdHyde Witness1
The Vietnamese did it, same as the Afghans
09 August 2013 3:41am
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veritasinverse
I'm getting pretty tired of hearing about the Trayvon Martin shooting resulting in a
miscarriage of justice.
The media shamelessly whipped (much of) the country into a frenzy over the case
FOR RATINGS (which is another way of saying FOR MONEY).
People are getting shot every day, all over America. The national media pretty much
ignore almost all of it. Let them find a case with which they can manipulate public
opinion FOR RATINGS, however, and they will fixate on it with seemingly non-stop
coverage. Talking heads. TV juries. Reverend Al.
The jury heard all the evidence, reached a decision. That's what happens in
courthouses every day. I didn't hear all the evidence, but suspect the jury reached
the right verdict.
I rather doubt Zimmerman would have even been charged at all but for the media.
We'll never know how much all the attention influenced the decision to prosecute, of
course, but even after acquittal the drumbeat for a pound of Zimmerman's flesh
continues.
Calls for civil rights prosecution seem ridiculous, to me anyway. There is no
evidence race had anything to do with the shooting. Might Zimmerman have
"profiled" Trayvon, at least in part, based on race? Sure, but only Zimmerman really
knows. Even if that were so, it wouldn't justify subjecting him to double jeopardy.
Yet there have been demonstrations all over America calling for just that. Why?
Because the national media plucked one case and magnified its significant out of all
proportion FOR RATINGS, the result of which was increasing the racial divide.
08 August 2013 9:44pm
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Witness1 veritasinverse
If Trayvon Martin had been white and Zimmerman had been black do you
think it would have turned out differently? Seriously, do you? Do you think
that Zimmerman, had he been black, would not have been charged with and
arrested for murder?
09 August 2013 2:01am
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veritasinverse Witness1
If Zimmerman had been an older, black neighborhood watch guy, and
Trayvon a 17 year old white teenager, and if every other circumstance
remained unchanged, I tend to doubt the prosecutor would have brought
charges. Rightly or wrongly, the event would most likely (imo) have been
ruled justifiable homicide. Why? Because the national media would have
taken no interest in the case. There wouldn't have been political pressure to
bring charges and "let a jury decide." Can I know for sure that there would
have been no charges? Of course not.. Am I pretty confident that any trial
would have resulted in the same verdict? Yes.
09 August 2013 2:50am
6
vermontgn Witness1
look up Arizona Phoenix SYG case , shooter is Black , victim was Hispanic
09 August 2013 4:50am
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Biffgee
"Thousands gathered during a rally in downtown Chicago."
Bullshit. I count about a couple hundred at most. And remember Chicago is Murder
City, USA, a 'gun-free' zone. How's that working out for you Chicago? I am much
safer when law abiding citizens are armed. As opposed to the Chicago model where
criminals are armed and law abiding citizens are unarmed.
08 August 2013 11:19pm
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LostintheUS Biffgee
There were far more than were captured in the photos...
09 August 2013 3:22am
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EdHyde Biffgee
Meanwhile gang members in Chicago shoot innocent children every day.
Unfortunately the shooters are not white, so the media and activists ignore
the slaughter.
09 August 2013 3:43am
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KOG2013
Arrest them all, and throw them into Guantanamo for 6 months. Let 'em mix with the
Muslim terrorist trash. GOOD TIMES.
08 August 2013 11:23pm
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Dave1963
"Continuing to wield outsized influence over gun laws across the US"? How about
they're writing legislation and donating/bribing legislators to see that it's passed.
Groups with a few thousand members influence laws that affect 300 million
Americans. And most of my fellow Americans are too ignorant to even know what's
happening. When corporations and government conspire to do what's best for them
that equals fascism not democracy. When media conspires to "sell" the agenda
that's called propaganda.
Here's a list of some of the right wing groups influencing public policy:
http://www.rightwingwatch.org/category/organizations
Here's some well researched information on ALEC:
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/SourceWatch
09 August 2013 12:09am
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Witness1 Dave1963
The Supreme Court just threw out the anti-propaganda laws.
09 August 2013 1:59am
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Bobby_Z Dave1963
Being conservative, or "right wing" as you call it, is not a crime, at least
yet. But the links you post are to true foaming at the mouth left-wing
harassment sites. If you want to be honest, why not take a look at some
much more truthful political analysis on the web.
http://discoverthenetworks.org/
Saul Alinsky - the author of the game plan of your left-wing groups.
http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/individualProfile.asp?indid=2314
Obama and the Saul Alinsky connection:
http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/Articles/Rules%20for%20Revolution%2
0(2).pdf
09 August 2013 5:15am
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thegradycole Bobby_Z
09 August 2013 12:13pm
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The point is that ALEC is not an organization of conservative legislators. Do
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Ae00111
How so liberally biased, so self-defense against drugged kids is now looked down
upon? How pathetic.
09 August 2013 12:22am
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Witness1 Ae00111
Waaht?
09 August 2013 1:59am
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Ricosoavarooski Witness1
The allusion is to the ALLEGED toxicology results support the contention
that T. Martin's liver showed pathology consistent with use of "Purple
drank" and that he may have been high when he assaulted Zimmerman.
Just enter "was Trayvon high on purple drank" and go from there. But given
how highly charged this case became (and it IS NOT over yet; there is at
least one lawsuit outstanding versus the Florida prosecutor's office for
withholding evidence illegally from the Zimmerman defense) you have to be
especially skeptical and look for multiple, on the record sources to verify or
refute anything posted.
09 August 2013 4:33pm
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christianasgrand
That idiotic old woman in Texas who shot a seven year old boy who was takingg a
pee on enbankment,with his family all sitting in an ATV nearby, believed she was
standing her ground. It was the state's property, however. There is no end to white
paranoia among the least educated, including Republicans.
09 August 2013 1:14am
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Jack Eck christianasgrand
That is BS... That woman and her husband were both convicted of murder.
White paranoia is a racist thing to say don't you think? The double standard
is glaring any your comment is annoying.......
09 August 2013 5:44am
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KingJamesI
These anti-human rights activists are sad people with sad lives.
09 August 2013 1:33am
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SueCopeland
FOR THE LAST TIME
SYG was NOT used in the Zimmerman/Martin trial.
09 August 2013 1:51am
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SueCopeland
The American Legislative Exchange Council, a secretive alliance of big businesses
and largely Republican state legislators who co-operate to push a right-wing political
agenda in the American hinterland
Hardly secretive, Ed Pilkington, it's all over Wikipedia, viz:
The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is a 501(c)(3) American
organization composed of legislators, businesses and foundations which produces
model policies for state legislatures and promotes free markets, limited government,
and federalism at the state level.[3] According to the organization's website,
members share a common belief that "government closest to the people" is
09 August 2013 2:04am
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"fundamentally more effective, more just, and a better guarantor of freedom than the
distant, bloated federal government in Washington, D.C." In a Dec. 2011 opinion
piece critical of ALEC which appeared in The Nation magazine, John Nichols
described ALEC as a "collaboration between multinational corporations and
conservative state legislators."
ALEC provides a forum for state legislator and corporate members to collaborate on
"model policies"draft legislation that members can customize for communities and
introduce for debate in their own state legislatures. Approximately 200 per year
become law.[6] ALEC has produced model policy on issues such as reducing
corporate regulation and taxation, tightening voter identification rules, digital due
processnstreamlining or minimizing environmental protections, over-criminalization
and promoting gun rights. ALEC also serves as a networking tool among state
legislators, allowing them to research the handling and "best practices" of policy in
other states.
ALEC's complete list of model policies are housed on the organization's website for
public viewing.
for lots more see:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Legislative_Exchange_Council
FOR A LIST OF MEMBERS SEE:
List of members of the American Legislative Exchange Council
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_members_of_the_American_Legislative_Exchang
e_Council
The alphabetical list below contains the names of for-profit corporations that are
known to be, or to have been, American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)
members or supporters
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/ALEC_Corporations
I would suggest it is not really very secret, but I guess that sounds better when
you are a (somewhat) biased reporter.
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SueCopeland SueCopeland
Ed Pilkington is the chief reporter for Guardian US. He is a former national
and foreign editor of the paper, and author of Beyond the Mother Country.
Please note that Google, an excellent search engine may be found at
www.google.com
09 August 2013 2:07am
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basedrop SueCopeland
Obviously you didn't even bother to read the pages at wikipedia:
"Arizona Assistant Minority Leader Steve Farley proposed an ALEC
Accountability Act to force legislators to disclose their ALEC ties.
I just want to emphasize its fine for corporations to be involved in the
process. Corporations have the right to present their arguments, but they
dont have the right to do it secretly. They dont have the right to lobby
people and not register as lobbyists."
"The Nation; Publication of leaked ALEC model policies"
" Bloomberg Businessweek compared ALEC's work to that of lobbyists,
noting, "part of ALEC's mission is to present industry-backed legislation as
grass-roots work", and that being a non-profit rather than a lobby group
allows deductibility of membership dues, and the freedom not to disclose
the names of legislators who attend its educational seminars or the
executives who give presentations to those legislators"
"ALEC's membership list and the origin of its model policies were not
disclosed; BusinessWeek wrote that "part of ALEC's mission is to present
industry-backed legislation as grass-roots work"
Now lets get to your second link with the list of members:
"This list includes members whose identity primarily has become known
through internal documents leaked to Common Cause and research by
members of the press. This list may not be complete."
You wouldn't even have this page to reference if its secretive
membership wasn't leaked.
Conclusion: Secretive.
09 August 2013 10:49am
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SueCopeland basedrop
Conclusion:
09 August 2013 1:41pm
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NotarySojac
Yet again, an article which mentions the names "Martin" and "Zimmerman" is
besieged by idiot trolls attempting to defend Zimmerman's criminal actions.
As a neighborhood-watch volunteer, Zimmerman was not supposed to carry a
weapon. He chose to do so, in violation of the rules.
The dispatcher strongly advised him not to follow or confront the person who turned
out to be Trayvon Martin; Zimmerman chose to ignore this advice.
Given these two facts which cannot be disputed, it is clearly Zimmerman, and only
Zimmerman, who is responsible for instigating the entire tragedy. Gaining courage
from the presence of his artificial penis, and in flagrant violation of watch rules and
the dispatcher's advice to remain in his vehicle, Zimmerman chose to follow his
bigotry to tragic self-importance.
Faced with these facts, the Florida justice system tried to do nothing whatsoever;
under pressure, they reluctantly brought forward a "case" which omitted the facts
outlined above. Which makes it very hard to believe that the prosecution had any
real interest in "winning" their case.
All you little trolls can flog your talking points (and bad grammar and 4th-grade
spelling skills) all you wish (or are paid to do, by whom?), but sheer repetition cannot
make your lies any truth-ier.
(And don't troll me, because I won't be reading it.)
09 August 2013 2:32am
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SoAmerican NotarySojac
You were doing good until you started talking about "artificial penis" and
"bigotry", which derailed your otherwise legitimate argument.
09 August 2013 3:36am
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EdHyde NotarySojac
About as tiring as reading followers of Saint Trayvon claiming he was an
innocent child hunted and killed by a racist.
09 August 2013 4:36am
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vermontgn NotarySojac
not supposed to carry is huge difference from barred to carry . You are not
09 August 2013 4:52am
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Cheryl Llera
Meanwhile, a small group of Americans refuse to become Good Germans, choosing
instead to challenge the real owners of this country, and doing so face-to-face. Long
live the Resistance!
09 August 2013 2:59am
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carrieanna
Working to keep people from voting is thoroughly anti-American. These lobbyists
should be ashamed of themselves.
09 August 2013 3:18am
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NRAFREEDOM
Brits are foolish suckers that gave away their rights to firearms w/o a fight.
We Americans will use murderous revolution against our worthless gov't to protect
our rights.
Enjoy.
09 August 2013 3:50am
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hoyoku NRAFREEDOM
Careful, the NSA's watching you....
09 August 2013 5:04am
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maias NRAFREEDOM
Do you think your pea-shooter equivalent can take on one of your worthless
gov't's helicopter gunships in your murderous revolution?
09 August 2013 6:55am
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Enid Anderson NRAFREEDOM
Why use violent revolution as a tool when you can simply vote them out?
09 August 2013 8:47am
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Gman79
Good to see Americans on here pointlessly whining about:
a) the tired ins-and-outs of the Zimmerman case and
b) the "right" - clearly abhorrent in a civilzed society - to kill others with guns.
The important issue - the wholesale corporate buying of politics through the likes of
ALEC - seems to scarecely raise an eyebrow. But then corruption isn't corruption if it
happens in Murika: it's just good ole capitalism and freedom of speech.
09 August 2013 3:58am
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Jack Eck Gman79
Murder is illegal here. Gun ownership is not and there is no evidence that
attributes loose gun laws equal more murder...
09 August 2013 4:57am
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Dave1963 Gman79
Your just mad because you have limited gun rights in the UK, so you have
to beat each other to death like really civilized people.
09 August 2013 5:26am
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Ricosoavarooski Dave1963
"Youth Screams While Being Hacked to Death with Swords" (stop here and
tell me the next part isn't shocking)
"In CENTRAL LONDON" --- 28 January 2013, in Pimlico, as allegedly some
kind of horrible gang dispute.
09 August 2013 4:39pm
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labman57
Public protests are an expression of all that is good and Godly -- they are the
ultimate display of democracy and patriotism against the evils of the establishment,
the corruption of the federal government, and the unconstitutionality of decisions
handed down by the Supreme Court.*
* ... unless said protests are conducted by union workers, liberals and progressives,
ethnic minorities, gays, senior citizens, women fighting for their health and privacy
rights, or participants in an "occupied" rally, in which case they're a non-patriotic
demonstration of unAmerican, immoral ideas by "thugs, hoodlums, and
malcontents" who want to destroy society as we know it!
The preceding announcement was brought you by the corporate-sponsored lobbyists
and Congressional Republican puppetmasters of ALEC.
09 August 2013 4:50am
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Jack Eck
Look I know most of you guardian readers don't like hearing it but the American
people are pro gun. Also even as all these gun laws are being loosened up
America's homicide rate has been dropping since 1993. Despite a recession which
by most people's account should raise the level of violence in a country... This really
is a non issue here...
09 August 2013 4:56am
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Bobby_Z Jack Eck
If you want to read the absolute silliness of the modern British attitude
toward guns (after they lost their Empire) - check this out for a laugh - right
off the pages of the Guardian:
"Bullet found in doorway" - from 9 Nov. 2006.
http://www.guardian-series.co.uk/news/1013959.bullet_found_in_doorway/
09 August 2013 5:20am
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Jack Eck Bobby_Z
Lol... That is to funny....
09 August 2013 5:48am
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basedrop Bobby_Z
I thought I was reading the Onion.
09 August 2013 10:56am
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hoyoku
Rudyard Kipling wrote of having observed the corporate buying and selling of
politicians and their votes in "Notes on America" around a century ago. That's
progress for ya!
09 August 2013 5:03am
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Bobby_Z
Guardian, can you possibly be more biased and dishonest? "Watchdog group" - you
mean a far left harassment organization? Look at their stupid report - almost as
biased as you are. Stand your ground had nothing to do with the Martin case - which
was brought on pure racialist grounds - Zimmerman was acquitted on simple self
defense. You call simple conservative political organizations who want to return to
Constitutional limited government"far right" as if they are brownshirts - gee, don't you
have your own little issue with Nazi sympathizers?
09 August 2013 5:07am
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maias
US lobbying group Alec pushing pro-gun agenda despite promise to stop......
Hey, don't forget George W Bush gave Saddam Hussein 48 hours to leave Iraq but
attacked him after 45 hours had elapsed - reminded me of stories of cowboys
shooting others in the back.
So don't expect too much from Alec, who obviously needs a gun AND laws to give
him the courage to fire it.
09 August 2013 6:49am
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Enid Anderson
Personally, I don't care how many gun-toting Americans shoot it out with each other
and eliminate themselves. Unfortunately it's the Trayvon Martins who get killed by
the people who think they are invincible/macho/powerful. It's not often two gun
owners slug it out - more's the pity.
09 August 2013 8:41am
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Ricosoavarooski Enid Anderson
Well personally I DO care since there are real innocent bystanders killed by
the stray bullets --- it would be tragic but highly predictable that the usual
"gangstas" shoot at each other and sometimes connect, since the law
enforcement methods and community pressure so far haven't totally
clamped that down by any means, but there have been a number of people,
including children barely able to walk, killed when these idiots stage a
"driveby" shooting in order to settle some kind of meaningless dispute.
The death toll is disproportionately black and Hispanic and would never be
tolerated otherwise, of course.
09 August 2013 4:25pm
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EdHyde Enid Anderson
Hate to disturb your preconceptions, but I am one of those gun-toting
Americans who has owned handguns for over 30 years. I've never shot
anyone, and my guns have never magically jumped from the closet and
shot anyone.
09 August 2013 4:31pm
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Jack Hughes
Republicans love outsourcing so much that they have outsourced legislation to
corporate special interests.
09 August 2013 12:21pm
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antihegemon
The beginning of the end for corporatism and its cronies.
We see you. We know who you are. We know what you're doing.
We will stop you.
09 August 2013 2:40pm
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Justin Brown antihegemon
We should stop labeling congresspeople as democrat or republican and
start doing (ALEC pawn)
09 August 2013 4:19pm
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Justin Brown
IF people want to stand against american corporatocracy, they need to boycott
anybody who has ties to ALEC. We are no longer a democracy when half the
government takes its marching orders from corporations.
09 August 2013 4:16pm
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Justice53
Whites Don't Belong In America Says Latino KKK Brown Berets At Arizona Law
Protest
http://www.alipac.us/content/video-latino-kkk-brown-berets-say-whites-don-t-belong-
america-2156/
"The video we are releasing again today captures just one of many examples of the
racism and separatist movements you will see on every street corner in America
should we fail to stop Congress from passing amnesty for illegal aliens!"
09 August 2013 5:28pm
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Landrew
Controversial 'right to work' laws? Amusing. Right to work merely means you cannot
be forced to join a union and pay dues as a condition of employment. No surprise
that the coercion-loving progressives hate this. How unjust that we can't force you to
do something against your will! We know what's best for you anyway! Apparently
quite a few government employees in Wisconsin and Indiana disgree with this
mentality, since memberships in govt employee unions there dropped dramatically
after these laws went into effect.
But that's just wrong! The progressives should have their 'right' to order them back in
and cough up dues! Justice!
Laughable.
09 August 2013 6:00pm
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tastypet
Stand your Ground was not the defense used in the Trayvon Martin case. To even
discuss it when it was not used is nothing but fear-mongering.
09 August 2013 6:45pm
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MISkid
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Comments for this discussion are now closed.
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It is amazing the words thrown in to the when an organization with views contrary to
liberals does something. If the writer had researched US case law they would have
found that "stand your Ground" & "self defense" are synonymous. So one must
conclude that the writer is against self defense. Everyone except the writer, knows
states with right to work laws have created more jobs than states who don't have
such laws. It is a fact that wind turbines have killed more birds, many endangered,
than all other causes. It is a fact that solar cell "farms" have endangered more
species that any other cause; fracking farming, logging, or coal mining. Don't you
wish that there was a news organization that would work with facts & not push an
agenda?
09 August 2013 7:25pm
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