Reuters: U.S.: Coke withdraws from advocacy group that backs gun laws

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Coke withdraws from advocacy group that backs gun laws Apr 5th 2012, 16:20 Tweet Share this Email Print Related News Prosecutor denies interfering in Florida shooting case Mon, Apr 2 2012 Florida teenager's hometown turns out in Miami protest Sun, Apr 1 2012 Marchers again demand arrest in Trayvon Martin case Sat, Mar 31 2012 Public information restricted in case of slain teen Fri, Mar 30 2012 Shooter of Florida teen appears uninjured in video Thu, Mar 29 2012 Analysis & Opinion Convicted inside trader Bauer warns others to "think harder" before breaking the law Poynter chat: Should journalists support Trayvon Martin, Gov. Walker recall? Bottles of Coca-Cola sit on a supermarket shelf in Gilbert, Arizona October 20, 2009. Credit: Reuters/Joshua Lott By Barbara Liston ORLANDO, Florida | Thu Apr 5, 2012 12:20pm EDT ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - The Coca-Cola Company said it was dropping its membership in a conservative national advocacy group that supports "Stand Your Ground" laws like the one being used as a defense in the Florida killing of an unarmed black teenager. In a statement released on Thursday, Coca-Cola made no direct mention of the controversial self-defense law pushed by the American Legislative Exchange Council. "The Coca-Cola Company has elected to discontinue its membership with the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)," the statement said. "Our involvement with ALEC was focused on efforts to oppose discriminatory food and beverage taxes, not on issues that have no direct bearing on our business. We have a long-standing policy of only taking positions on issues that impact our company and industry," it said. Coca-Cola and other member companies in ALEC were targeted last year by the civil rights group ColorOfChange for their support of the organization, which also is behind what ColorOfChange Executive Director Rashad Robinson calls "voter suppression laws" in many states. Since the killing of Trayvon Martin, Robinson said, ColorOfChange has let the corporations know that ALEC was behind a push for states to adopt legislation modeled after Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law. The law provides shooters with wide latitude for claiming self defense when they perceive a threat. Martin, 17, was killed on February 26 in Sanford, Florida, by George Zimmerman, 28, a white Hispanic neighborhood watch volunteer who has claimed he acted in self defense and has not been charged with a crime. At a rally in Sanford on Saturday, civil rights leaders said they were considering economic boycotts of national companies that support "Stand Your Ground" laws. In a letter to ColorOfChange dated January 25, 2012, PepsiCo told Robinson that the company had decided to drop its decade-long membership in ALEC. Robinson said Coca-Cola made its decision on Wednesday after ColorOfChange at 9 a.m. posted a Web page criticizing Coca-Cola's continued support of ALEC. Robinson said the Web page was up for eight hours before ColorOfChange removed it based on Coca-Cola's change of heart. (Editing by Maureen Bavdek) Related Quotes and News Company Price Related News Tweet this Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/ Comments (0) Be the first to comment on reuters.com. Add yours using the box above.

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