...This is not the first time a big business has gotten involved in local politics. In 2019, there was a lawsuit filed by many different civil rights organizations, such as Black Lives Matter and the Center for Constitutional Rights, in Arizona against 26 lawmakers because they attended the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) summit. ALEC is a political enigma; it is a nonprofit organization composed of conservative state legislators who can draft and share model legislation among them. The legality of ALEC is called into question constantly because along with these state legislators, there are also corporations that have membership within ALEC. Essentially, these corporations can be argued as being equals with these legislators. The corporations benefit by giving their opinions on bills they believe should be introduced in various states, such as the Stand Your Ground law (another law passed in Florida back in 2005) that Wal-Mart and the NRA supported. Legislators benefit by receiving goods from these corporations, such as political donations to help them campaign. ALEC essentially makes it easy for legislators to do their job and for corporations to affect local politics.  ...

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