LOD: Guns, Money and ALEC

The gun lobby nurtures fear to make money and increases its profits through a partnership with the American Legislative Exchange Council, writes Paul Krugman of the New York Times. Florida’s radical version of ALEC’s boilerplate Castle Doctrine legislation cost young Trayvon Martin his life, but it is paying off for gun makers, gun dealers, the National Rifle Association, and their lobbyists – and the NRA/ALEC alliance continues to push the Florida model in other states. Public Campaign traces the impact of NRA’s political donations in Florida. “We need a political system that listens to families like Trayvon Martin’s and not the wealthy special interests,” says David Donnelly of the Public Campaign Action Fund. The gun lobby succeeded in pushing through a less extreme version of the Castle Doctrine in North Carolina last year – less extreme but still dangerous and deadly. Despite claims that the NC law has effective safeguards, we’re doomed to witness its harsh consequences on life, liberty and, says Krugman, “our society — and our democracy.”