A new report shows that Florida’s ‘Stand Your Ground’ law in the middle of the Trayvon Martin tragedy was written by the NRA and pushed in multiple State Legislatures by ALEC finds that a Michigan 2005-2006 Bill most closely matches the controversial Florida law. Even as all that is happening, the Michigan ALEC member sponsor of that bill is pushing for guns in churches.
ALEC/NRA Animation by Pulitzer Prize winning Mark Fiore, March 28, 2012:
This MUST VIEW animation on Mark Fiore’s website and Dailykos.
Over a Dozen US States are using the Florida ALEC/NRA Model
Which State has the most identical ‘Stand Your Ground’ Bill? The envelope please…
Details on the Sunlight Foundation report from the Orlando Sentinel:
The Sunlight Foundation, a D.C.-based non-profit watchdog group, says that 10 other states have passed “stand your ground” legislation that’s virtually identical to the statute passed in Florida in 2005. The law — originated by the National Rifle Association (NRA) and, after it passed in Florida, pressed in other states by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) — has won notoriety because of the Trayvon Martin case, in which a 17-year-old unarmed black victim was shot by a white Neighborhood Watch captain who said he felt threatened and was acting in self-defense.
The foundation identified the 10 states with near-identical laws as Michigan, South Carolina, West Virginia, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Wisconsin, Wyoming, Kansas and Mississippi.
From the Sunlight Foundation press release “
10 States Copied Florida's ‘Stand Your Ground’ Law” on March 28, 2012:
The analysis was able to detect striking similarities and identical phrases across multiple bills [in multiple states], including the phrase, “[a] person is presumed to have held a reasonable fear of imminent peril of death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another when using defensive force that is intended or likely to cause death or great bodily harm …,” which is just one of the provisions of the law that is intended to protect people who may have killed another person from being arrested or prosecuted.
Michigan’s House Bill 5153 that passed the state legislature in 2006 was the most similar to Florida’s bill, according to the analysis. When compared to the Florida bill it returned the highest rate of matches than any other bill did at 146 fragments matched. The state bill with the lowest matching rate to Florida was Mississippi Senate Bill 2426 at 20 matching fragment counts.
In The Nation magazine, which along with the
Center for Media and Democracy (PRWatch) in Wisconsin has been the
center of mass Exposing ALEC with their
original series of articles on ALEC, John Nichols sees the last NRA/ALEC scandal is more of the same stuff he has been observing in "
How ALEC Is Creating Florida-Style Messes in Other States" on March 26, 2012:
“ALEC-aligned lawmakers in states across the country began promoting the model legislation—sometimes in mirror form, sometimes with modest alterations—advanced. After Republicans gained complete control of state legislatures in states such as Wisconsin after the 2010 elections, the process accelerated. According to the Center for Media and Democracy, which organized the ALEC Exposed project, “Since becoming an ALEC model, sixteen states have passed laws that contain provisions identical or similar to (Florida's law)."
MORE Gun-crazy Legislation in Michigan This Week
What Peacemaker is Jesus Packing?
Also this week, in another bizarre blow’em away bill, pushed by State Senator Mike Green (R- Mayville, 31st District) an ALEC member since at least 1997 in the State House and member of the ALEC Task Force on Education, is expanding the gun-toting rights of nearly a quarter of a million gun carriers in Michigan.
From Ethics Daily in “Mich. Bill Would Allow Guns in Churches, Colleges” reposting a Peter Luke story flipping back to January 28, 2011:
Individuals with valid concealed weapons permits could carry guns in Michigan areas currently prohibited by law, including schools, churches, bars and sports stadiums, under proposed legislation.
The state’s current gun restrictions date to 2000 as part of a law that relaxed permitting requirements. The original House sponsor of that law, Republican Mike Green, is now pushing to relax those rules as a member of the state Senate.
Green has introduced legislation allowing the 255,870 permit holders in Michigan to carry firearms into hospitals, casinos, entertainment facilities with a seating capacity greater than 2,500, churches (if the presiding official doesn’t object), and college dormitories or classrooms.
Fast forward to this week,
Tim Skubick is also baffled “
Mich. Senator's Plan Would Allow More Guns in More Places: Concealed weapons in church, arenas and more” on March 23, 2012 by Green’s crazy comments:
“What would Jesus think about this? Concealed weapons in a church? OMG.
Sen. Mike Green thinks it’s a splendid idea and has legislation to not only allow guns in church, but in schools, sporting arenas and bars.
Give the Mayville Republican credit, he has not wavered on his pro-gun beliefs. The father of the original shall-issue bill to legalize concealed weapons proved the experts wrong when they predicted Michigan would turn into the Wild, Wild West if everyone was packin’ hidden heat.”
Mike Green has been on the soap box
also supporting the ALEC-based voter suppression or ‘Voter ID’ bills recently passed in Michigan. Says
Green:
“"There's so much stuff like that that goes on, that this process that we think is pure and clean, isn't pure and clean anymore."
Got that right buddy, we know what goes on. You and your fellow ALEC members, representing largely out-of-state corporate and the mega-wealthy special interests, have hijacked the entire legislative process in our State.
Even as the story of ALEC is appearing in dozens of states on the front page and investigative journalists nationwide from Bloomberg to The Nation fight their way to winning the ALEC story Pulitzer, as of this posting not one major Michigan media outlet has covered the prevalence, political relationships and extensive historical use of ALEC models in Michigan legislation.
Can you hear us now? Or does (and packing politicians better pray it doesn't) somebody need to get shot first?
Crossposted from Blogging for Michigan.
RELATED: "Gov Rick Snyder Sellout? Prefabricated Corporate Michigan (Government) Courtesy of Koch & ALEC Excl." the first state-level investigation of ALEC in 2011.