2012 state petitions for secession

The 2012 state petitions for secession were a citizen originated petition drive using the White House's petitioning system. By November 14, 2012 all 50 US states have had petitions filed by their citizens.[1][2] Generally, each petition seeks peaceful secession and independence for their respective states from the United States of America.

Historical background

The question of secession (from the Union) has had a long history in American politics. The first region to threaten secession was New England during the War of 1812. The last serious attempt occurred during the American Civil War (1861–65) when 11 southern states declared independence; war soon broke out. Since then most efforts have met with little support. Modern attempts at serious state independence have arisen in Alaska, Hawaii and Vermont as well as through the efforts of southern organizations like the League of the South.

Petition background

The petitions began November 7, 2012, when "Michael E" from Slidell, Louisiana[3] created an online petition requesting the Obama administration "Peacefully grant the State of Louisiana to withdraw from the United States of America and create its own NEW government."[4] The petition originally started as a response to the 2012 presidential election but since then it has grown into a national movement and encompasses many grievances, namely economic problems and the expansion of the federal government. By 6 AM (EST), November 14th, the various petitions had garnered over 675,000 signatures.[5] Such petitions are largely symbolic in nature and few, if any, people expect any state to actually secede as a result of these petitions.[6]

Since these petitions were started by individual citizens, and not by the states themselves, no official state petition is being made and they have little to no legal standing.[7]

Signing of a petition for secession of a given state was not restricted to actual residents of that state. Instead, anyone with an account on the whitehouse.gov petitioning system could sign petitions for secession of states they did not live in, and many did.

State petitions

According to the We the People petitioning site, the largest petitions have the following signature count:

State Number of signatures
Texas[8] 125,000
Tennessee[9] 32,694
North Carolina 31,800
Alabama 31,597
Arizona 23,987
Arkansas 23,506
Colorado 22,720
Indiana 21,932
Missouri 20,562
Michigan 19,981
Kentucky 19,344
Mississippi 18,861
Oklahoma 18,360
New York 15,361
California 15,220
Oregon 15,007
New Jersey 14,487
Pennsylvania 13,971
Montana 13,733
Ohio 12,040
North Dakota 11,744
Nevada 10,706
Wyoming 9,341
Virginia 9,102
Kansas 8,857
Utah 8,446
Alaska 8,099
West Virginia 8,084
Delaware 7,804
Nebraska 7,394
Wisconsin 7,386
South Dakota 6,716
Idaho 6,450
Minnesota 5,807
New Hampshire 5,640
Illinois 5,520
New Mexico 5,329
Iowa 5,276
Rhode Island 4,826
Washington 4,600
Maine 4,344
Hawaii 4,269
Massachusetts 4,254
Maryland 4,176
Connecticut 3,910
Vermont 2,656

Official reactions

Petitions that receive over 25,000 signatures within 30 days of their filing make them eligible to receive an official response from the White House. Over time, several elected officials have responded.

On January 15, 2013, the White House officially stated that they will not allow the states to secede.[14]

Related petitions

In addition to the individual petitions for secession several related and counter petitions were also filed. One asks that those states who have filed petitions to be allowed to peacefully form their own new governments or to allow those seceded states to collectively "form a new government all together". Several others ask that the administration punish those who sign secession petitions by revoking their citizenship and deporting and/or exiling them.[15] Additional petitions ask that certain cities, such as Austin, Texas, be allowed to remain in the United States should their state secede. All of these petitions have less than 20,000 signatures.

Media reactions

When the number of petitions began to grow media outlets nationwide started to carry stories detailing the issue and interviewing various individuals and groups associated with the petition drive. Phil Valentine,[16] Sean Hannity,[17] Alex Jones[18] and others have all dedicated time to doing interviews or discussing the reasons behind the drive and its implications.

See also

References

  1. ↑ David Martosko (November 14, 2012). "White House ‘secede’ petitions reach 675,000 signatures, 50-state participation". The Daily Caller. Retrieved November 14, 2012.
  2. ↑ petitions.whitehouse.gov/petitions/popular/0/2/4/
  3. ↑ Drew Zahn (November 13, 2012). "Secession madness! Now 40 states join petition fray". World Net Daily. Retrieved November 13, 2012.
  4. ↑ Kevin Cirilli (November 13, 2012). "Secession petition leader: Obama's baked". Politico. Retrieved November 13, 2012.
  5. ↑ David Martosko (November 14, 2012). "White House ‘secede’ petitions reach 675,000 signatures, 50-state participation". The Daily Caller. Retrieved November 14, 2012.
  6. ↑ David Martosko (November 13, 2012). "Petitions seeking White House approval to ‘secede’ now come from 47 states". The Daily Caller. Retrieved November 13, 2012.
  7. ↑ Associated Press staff (November 14, 2012). "Secession petitions grow, but without legal weight". News-Leader.com. Retrieved November 14, 2012.
  8. ↑ "White House responds to secession petition, says Texas doesn't have right to leave the US". Associated Press. January 14, 2013. Retrieved November 14, 2013.
  9. ↑ Chas Sisk (January 16, 2013). "White House rejects petition for Tennessee to secede from Union". The Tennessean. Retrieved November 14, 2013.
  10. ↑ George Talbot (November 13, 2012). "Gov. Robert Bentley: No secession for Alabama". Al.com. Retrieved November 13, 2012.
  11. ↑ Heidi Hall (November 13, 2012). "Governor not signing Tennessee's secession petition". The Tennessean. Retrieved November 13, 2012.
  12. ↑ Kevin Liptak (November 13, 2012). "Rick Perry doesn't support secession petition on White House website". CNN Blogs. Retrieved November 13, 2012.
  13. ↑ Elizabeth Flock (November 13, 2012). "Ron Paul Still Feels 'Secession is Very Much an American Principle'". US News. Retrieved November 14, 2012.
  14. ↑ David Taffet (January 15, 2013). "White House responds to Texas secession petition". Dallas Voice. Retrieved Jan 17, 2013.
  15. ↑ John Archibald (November 14, 2012). "White House petitioned to deport secessionists -- and legalize pot". Al.com Blog. Retrieved November 14, 2012.
  16. ↑ Staff. "News You Need To Read 11/12-14/12". Phil Valentine. Archived from the original on November 14, 2012. Retrieved November 15, 2012.
  17. ↑ Stephanie Condon (November 14, 2012). "Secessionist leader: Texas should separate from Marxist states". CBS News. Retrieved November 15, 2012.
  18. ↑ Staff (November 15, 2012). "Why The States Must Secede to Save America". Infowars. Retrieved November 15, 2012.
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