Corporate Lobbying Group ALEC Put Falsified Signatures On A Letter To A Senator, Group Finds
This week, the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) sent Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) a letter that claimed the Senators investigation into ALECs involvement Stand Your Ground laws was a form of intimidation. The letter was supposed to have carried the clout of about 300 state legislators who signed onto it, but, according to an investigation by progressive group by ProgressNow, many of the signatures on that letter were falsified or duplicated.
ALEC has come under intense scrutiny for its involvement in orchestrating passage of Stand Your Ground in several states. The law became a hotbed of controversy in the wake of Trayvon Martins death. Though it wasnt ultimately used in killer George Zimmermans defense, Stand Your Ground allowed Zimmerman to walk free on the night of the killing, turned out to be central to the case at trial, and was cited by one of six jurors as a justification for his acquittal.
After the Zimmerman verdict was announced, Durbin said that he would conduct an inquiry in ALECs involvement in the bill.
The group hit back Monday with a letter that tried to discredit Durbins inquiry. The group said it was signed by 293 elected officials. But, ProgressNow found, 55 of the signatures are blatantly invalid.
http://progressnow.org/alec/alec-durbin.html
http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2013/08/14/2466281/alec-signatures-stand-your-ground/