The Trayvon Martin case, Florida’s “Castle Doctrine,” and the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)

    Media Contact
  • Dale Eisman

The attached fact sheet prepared by Lisa Graves of the Center for Media and Democracy and Nick Surgey of Common Cause may be helpful as you develop stories surrounding the tragic death of Trayvon Martin and the Florida law that to date appears to have inhibited prosecution of his killer.

Florida’s “Castle Doctrine” or “Stand-Your-Ground” statute grew out of a lobbying campaign by the National Rifle Association. Since its passage in Florida in 2005, the law has been replicated across the U.S. thanks in large part to the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), an organization of state legislators, lobbyists and corporate representatives.

Funded almost entirely by corporations — including Koch Industries, Altria, Wal-Mart, Coca-Cola, and Pfizer — ALEC quietly helps hundreds of its “model” bills become law each year. It is a major force behind efforts to privatize public education, impose draconian immigration laws to boost the private prison industry, disenfranchise minority, elderly, disabled and student voters, protect companies from lawsuits over defective products, and undermine worker rights.

For more information on ALEC, please visit www.alecexposed.org.