Retail giant Wal-Mart will end its membership in the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a conservative-leaning legislative organization that pushes reforms in statehouses across the country. Reuters reports that Wal-Mart was concerned about the increasing involvement of ALEC in pushing laws like Florida’s Stand Your Ground measure, which has been center stage in the controversy over the Trayvon Martin shooting in that state.
“Previously, we expressed our concerns about ALEC’s decision to weigh in on issues that stray from its core mission ‘to advance the Jeffersonian principles of free markets,'” Wal-Mart vice president of public affairs and government relations Maggie Sans said in a letter to ALEC executives and obtained by Reuters. “We feel that the divide between these activities and our purpose as a business has become too wide. To that end, we are suspending our membership in ALEC.”
