Last week, ALEC held its 40th annual meeting in Chicago– but they weren’t alone.
Over 3,000 people, including many PFAW members, came to protest ALEC’s extreme agenda and influence over the thousands of their lawmaker members, including some hard-hitting protests against ALEC’s success in getting “Stand Your Ground” laws on the books in so many states. You can read coverage of the event and see video at Occupy America. Be sure to also check out the Center for Media and Democracy’s new report on ALEC and 466 ALEC “model” bills that have been introduced just this past year, including:
- 52 bills to enact or tighten voter ID restrictions
- 71 bills limiting access to the courts, making it more difficult for citizens to hold corporations accountable when their products or services result in injury or death
- 117 bills affecting wages and worker rights, including bills to preempt local living wage ordinances
These protests were a real victory in showing ALEC that their secret’s out and we know what they’re up to. But the fight against ALEC’s extreme agenda didn’t end with last week’s protests. If we’re going to put a stop to their hidden influence, we can’t let our lawmakers think we’re not paying attention. We can’t let them continue to take their orders from ALEC’s corporate backers instead of their constituents. We can’t let them allow ALEC to subvert our democracy.
Take a look at our Activist Toolkit to see what you can do to keep the pressure on ALEC and their members.