Politics | ALEC Big Change at Group That Pushed 'Stand Your Ground' ALEC is shuttering the committee that worked to pass such laws By Kate Seamons Posted Apr 17, 2012 6:47 PM CDT Copied President Bush, left, is introduced by Rep. Kenny Marchant, R-Texas, right, prior to speaking at American Legislative Exchange Council, Thursday, July 26, 2007, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais) Coke, Kraft, Pepsi, and a handful of other big-name companies have quit the American Legislative Exchange Council in recent months, and the corporate pressure appears to have had an effect. The Washington Post reports that ALEC today announced that it is doing away with its Public Safety and Elections Committee, which has pushed "stand your ground" laws like the one at the center of the Trayvon Martin case around the country. Its chair explained that rather than back non-economic issues, ALEC is "redoubling our efforts on the economic front, a priority that has been the hallmark of our organization for decades." And while some reacted skeptically—the director of the Center for Media and Democracy called the move a "PR maneuver"—others were slightly more impressed. "ALEC is abandoning under pressure the most controversial part of its agenda," says the president of Common Cause. "That’s an important victory for the American public." Read These Next Ex-political candidate mired in sex tape scandal now has legal woes. Eisenhower Library boss is out after dispute over king's gift. A megachurch pastor is going to jail for abusing a girl decades ago. Judge gives Combs prison. Report an error