NRA pushed “stand your ground” law that may be responsible for Trayvon Martin’s death

The Florida law that is currently protecting watch captain George Zimmerman, termed “stand your ground,” was brought to the organization American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) by the National Rifle Assn.  ALEC, a national organization that fosters legislation primarily anti-consumer, has promoted the concept to states nationwide resulting in several laws passed similar to Florida’s. 

It is one of the bills supported by ALEC disproportionately impacting communities of color, according to the Center for Media and Democracy’s PR Watch.  The question is whether it prompted Zimmerman to take vigilante justice into his own hands resulting in action that he was not authorized to carry out.

The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is a front for back-room closed-door sessions between big business and state legislatures to draft legislation that benefits business.  The center for Media and Democracy has been fighting this organization for some time now, and I have done two past articles you can see here and here.  One of the major problems with ALEC is its secrecy in bringing biased legislation to states that is often passed as presented.

This law, also known as the “Castle Doctrine,” changes state criminal justice and civil law codes by giving legal immunity to a person who uses deadly force if they reasonably believe it is necessary to do so to prevent death or great bodily harm to themselves or another or to prevent the commission of a forcible felony.  It also bars the deceased's family from bringing a civil suit.  Additional information suggests Zimmerman acted as he did because the teen was black.

Florida Senator Durell Peadon introduced the law with NRA lobbyist, Marion Hammer, reportedly staring down legislators as they voted, according to CMD.  Afterwards Hammer presented the bill to ALEC where the NRA “boasted” it was “well-received,” after which all corporations and state legislators on the Task Force unanimously approved the bill as an ALEC model.  At last count, 25 states had the “stand your ground law.”

See Al JaZeera video below of Former federal prosecutor Michael Wildes discussing the NRA's power and the need for improved gun safety and control laws:

Wisconsin governor Scott Walker, a devoted ALEC alum, signed a bill into law in his state in 2011 with the key elements of the Castle Doctrine included.  On March 3 of this year, 20-year-old college student Bo Morrison was shot and killed by a homeowner in Slinger, Wisconsin as the young man hid from police after attending an underage drinking party.  Because of the Castle Doctrine, no charges will be filed in the shooting. Like Trayvon Martin, Morrison was black.



Trayvon Martin



Former U.S. attorney Kendall Coffey says the “stand your ground” law is “a license to kill,” noting that the number of justifiable homicides in Florida has tripled since the law was passed in 2005.  CMD says, “The Castle Doctrine and its ‘stand your ground’ provisions give license for people to engage in vigilantism without liability.  As such, the ALEC bill can put the decision to take a life in the hands of a person whose fears are motivated by prejudice and racial bias.

To my knowledge and at this writing, the NRA has made no official comment about the Trayvon Martin death, nor has it commented on the “stand your ground” law in relation to whether George Zimmerman acted correctly in his shooting of the black teen ager.  I read somewhere recently a headline that said, “George Zimmerman is the NRA.”  If that statement is correct, the Florida incident could well be the catalyst to more gun control in the future.

Read more here.

How corrupt is your state?

The Center for Public Integrity has just completed its State Integrity Investigation and on the surface there is no state that stands out in the ratings.  Except maybe New Jersey, in part because of its improvement over past history of corruption in government.  NJ is number one, Georgia is last.  The investigation is the first of its kind to assess transparency, accountability and anti-corruption mechanisms in all 50 states.  Not one state earned an “A” rating and eight received an “F.”

The Center for Public Integrity says: "In every state, there's room to improve the ethics laws, the level of transparency on government proceedings, the disclosure of information, and — most importantly — the oversight of these laws.”  One of the major findings was that even when ethics laws are passed, they are tough to enforce and often don’t carry meaningful charges. 

Those states with histories of corruption often have the toughest laws that expose the scandals.  On the other hand, with fewer regulations in place, a state is likely not to identify these problems.  The research included 330 corruption risk indicators across 14 government categories including:

Access to information, campaign finance, executive accountability, legislative accountability, judicial accountability, budgeting, civil service management, procurement, internal auditing, lobbying disclosure, pension fund management, ethics enforcement, insurance commissions, and redistricting.



Georgia state flag



The five states with a “B” rating were New Jersey, Connecticut, Washington, California and Florida in that order.  In the “Cs,” this group totaled nineteen with Mississippi first and Wisconsin last.  The “Ds” went to another 18 states, Minnesota first, Nevada last.  Eight getting an “F” rating with Michigan first and Georgia last.  Check your state here, which includes the actual score it received.   
SII singled out some states for blatant violations that justified mentioning: Tennessee established its ethics commission six years ago, but has yet to issue a single ethics penalty.  Can’t know if it’s even working since complaints are kept secret; North Carolina legislator sponsored and voted on a bill to loosen regulations on billboard construction, even though he co-owned five billboards in the state; 650 Georgia govt. employees accepted illegal gifts from vendors.

As far as the measurements used by the Integrity Index, several methods are employed, one recently naming Chicago as the most corrupt city in the U.S. and New York as the most corrupt state.  And these are February numbers released by the University of Illinois’ Institute of Government and Public Affairs, based on public corruption conviction data from the Department of Justice.  Although New Jersey beat its bad rap, the windy City can’t seem to shake it off.

The State Integrity Index researched the 330 “Integrity Indicators” across 14 categories of state government covered above.  “Indicators assess what laws, if any, are on the books (‘in law’ indicator) and whether the laws are effective in practice (‘in practice’ indicators). In many states, the disconnect between scores on a state’s law and scores in practice suggest a serious “enforcement gap.”  The laws may be there but just aren’t followed.

Arizona state flag

A classic case that received nationwide attention was when Arizona’s legislators admitted to violating the state’s financial disclosure policy after failing to report trips paid for by the Fiesta Bowl. Neither the Senate nor the House Ethics committee followed with an investigation.  One of the major offenders was State Senator Russell Pearce, who was later recalled in an election that was the first of its kind in the U.S.  He is running again for the state Senate.

Video of Fiesta Bowl scandal

The Center for Public Integrity’s State Integrity Investigation looks at one side of the corruption issue that evaluates your state’s standing in passing and enforcing laws that apply to how the state operates.  However, there is a sinister movement going on across the country today sponsored by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) that could literally destroy states citizens’ rights.  More on this and ALEC’s connection to the NRA later.



States try to legislate unions out of business

I have heard before that there is a cycle between unions and corporate management where one prevails in power for a few years, then the other takes over.  It is clear that big business has been in control for several years now thanks to the support of the GOP.  Labor unions have been diluted by the right to work laws, the latter which seem reasonable if unions are allowed to continue to organize and encourage membership.

Enter the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), headed up by the Koch brothers, and started some 30 years ago to draft state (sometimes national) legislation that favors big business.  You might know it best from its backing of Arizona’s anti-immigration law SB-1070, because ALEC was helping promote private prisons in the state to house the arrested illegals.  Arizona’s mock Governor Jan Brewer supported the private prison movement, as did the Republican controlled state legislature.

The fight over union rights has been going on for some time. A bill passed in Ohio was overturned in a public referendum last year.  Wisconsin passed a similar bill that would eliminate most union collective bargaining rights.  As a result, enough signatures have now been collected to recall Gov. Scott Walker.  He actually went to Arizona to promote corresponding legislation for that state that some have said is even more radical than Wisconsin’s.

Brewer met with ALEC this past December during its meeting in Scottsdale, AZ.  Wisconsin Gov. Walker was also there talking to ALEC groups who were meeting at the Phoenician hotel, one of the poshest resorts in the world.  This bunch of bozos basking in opulence while they attempt to deny working people their rights is yet another example of Republican arrogance in putting the desires of the corporate world ahead of the American public.



Jan Brewer, wicked witch from Arizona



The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) is taking on Brewer and other extreme right-wing lawmakers in retaliation for her assault on their Arizona members.  Her attack is to limit the ability to negotiate of teachers, fire fighters, police and other public service workers.  In their petition they said, “Where you see public workers and unions as a nuisance to get rid of, we see a movement.”  Once again Arizona has opened a can of worms with an ALEC ring in their nose.

The Huffington Post picked up a recent comment from Phoenix TV reporter Brahm Resnik who lists what the proposal includes;

Make it illegal for government bodies to collectively bargain with employee groups.

Public safety unions would be included in the ban.

End the practice of automatic payroll deductions for union dues.

Ban compensation of public employees for union work.

The sham Gov. Jan Brewer also wants to take away all civil-service protection for state employees so she can fire them at will.  Shades of Donald Trump.

Wisconsin’s Gov. Walker made a bizarre statement at the annual Goldwater Institute dinner.  It said that, “…compromising with unions was ‘bogus.’”  If that doesn’t send union members postal, nothing will.  But the Ohio vote proves that the union vote is still important to political elections and can still be persuasive in the outcome.  At this point the GOP has both Hispanics and unions to look out for in November.

One last point.  Recall papers have been filed to recall Gov. Jan Brewer, in some part obviously due to her support of limiting union rights.  You can help by spreading the word and signing the petition if you are an Arizonan.