Quit ALEC

April 10, 2012

Pepsi-Co, Coca-Cola, Kraft Foods, Intuit, and the Gates Foundation, major sponsors of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), have indicated they will not renew their memberships to the controversial conservative organization amid mounting criticism over ALEC's backing of 'Stand Your Ground' gun laws, which have been implicated in the shooting death of Florida teen Trayvon Martin. ProgressVA is urging Virginia legislators to terminate their ALEC memberships as well.

Progressive Point: Our legislators were elected to represent us, not corporate bottom lines. A secretive, corporate front group's fingerprints are all over recent attacks on Virginia families: restricting voting rights, privatizing public schools, and loosening public safety provisions. Even the "Kill at Will" law at the center of the Trayvon Martin shooting has been backed by ALEC.

ALEC's special interest bills put corporate profits above the needs of Virginia families. Now, in the face of public backlash, even major corporations are quitting ALEC. Our elected officials should follow suit. It's clear that if our lawmakers are patroning ALEC's laws, they're not working for us.

Get the Facts: Via ProgressVA:

• At least 50 bills introduced in the Virginia General Assembly were drawn from ALEC model legislation.


• Over $230,000 in taxpayer money has been spent sending legislators on junkets to ALEC conferences to meet with corporate lobbyists behind closed doors.


• Over 100 current and former Virginia legislators have ties to ALEC, including Speaker of the House of Delegates William Howell, Governor Bob McDonnell, and Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli.

Forward to a Friend via email

Share on Facebook

Tweet it: Quit #ALEC http://bit.ly/HxVHpn via @ProgressVA