This is a list of official or otherwise noteworthy proposals for dividing existing US states into multiple states. It does not specifically address statewide or other movements to secede from the United States. The word secession can refer to political separation at different levels of government organization, from city to state to country; this list focuses on secession from (rather than by) U.S. states, particularly to form new U.S. states.
A tale of two Marylands: Western Maryland and the rest of the state. Fed up with high taxes and gun control, some people want to break away and go it alone.
The petition submitted on Friday November 9, 2012 from the State of Texas requests the Obama administration to “Peacefully grant the State of Texas to withdraw from the United States of America and create its own NEW government.”
The petition appeared in the White House website “We the People” that invites users with a U.S. zip code to submit or sign petitions about policy changes they would like to see with the condition that such a petition must reach 25,000 signatures within 30 days, by December 9th, 2012, for the Obama administration to comment on it.
Here is the text of the petition as displayed in the White House website “We the People”:
WE PETITION THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION TO:
Peacefully grant the State of Texas to withdraw from the United States of America and create its own NEW government.
The US continues to suffer economic difficulties stemming from the federal government’s neglect to reform domestic and foreign spending. The citizens of the US suffer from blatant abuses of their rights such as the NDAA, the TSA, etc. Given that the state of Texas maintains a balanced budget and is the 15th largest economy in the world, it is practically feasible for Texas to withdraw from the union, and to do so would protect it’s citizens’ standard of living and re-secure their rights and liberties in accordance with the original ideas and beliefs of our founding fathers which are no longer being reflected by the federal government.
So far, the president has not commented on the petition and there is no guarantee that he will. The terms of participation give the president some loopholes.
“To avoid the appearance of improper influence, the White House may decline to address certain procurement, law enforcement, adjudicatory, or similar matters properly within the jurisdiction of federal departments or agencies, federal courts, or state and local government in its response to a petition,” the site says.
Over 300,000 US citizens ,which repersent a total of 29 states, have signed petitions for their states to withdraw from the United States of America. They make references to the Declaration of Independence.
They make references to the Declaration of Independence, whereby a situation may emerge when it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bonds which have connected them with another, to ensure security and happiness, the federal media report.
They want to be granted the right to peacefully secede from the United States or allowed the holding of a referendum on such secession. Those who have signed the petition feel that President Obama’s economic reforms have proved ineffective. They claim the government has violated the rights and freedoms of Americans in the past two years.
Texas, a state boasting the best economic performance, was the first to start the secession movement. Almost 70,000 Texans had signed the petition on the White House website. They want Barack Obama to allow their state to peacefully withdraw from the United States of America, or allow them to hold a referendum on secession. They explained to the President that they have been prompted to seek self-determination by the federal authorities’ inappropriate policy, weak economic reforms and the obvious violations of Americans’ rights. The petitions are signed both by Republicans, the once loyal to Obama African Americans and liberals from 29 states.
According to online reports, the treaty on Crimea being accepted into Russia has prompted the setting up of an initiative group that will draw up a proposal for the Palestinian enclave in Israel to hold a referendum on joining the Russian Federation, too. This is reported by the Russian-language version of the Palestinian Information Centre.
The initiative group comprises Russian nationals making their home in Gaza. These are mostly Russian women, totallig some 50,000, who have married Palestinian men but have retained their Russian passports, the report says.
The report quotes a group member as saying that “Moscow has said it will defend Russians anywhere in the world. Meanwhile, we live in a place where Israel has threatened our lives and those of our children for years on end. But if the Gaza Strip joined Russia, we would also have a well-protected border, up-to-date weapons, perhaps, even nuclear weapons. This would make Israel and Egypt speak with Palestinians differently, the activists feel.
They are absolutely unperturbed by the fact that Russia is far away from Gaza. They point out that Gibraltar or the Falkland Islands are also far away from the UK. The activists have no doubt about the outcome of this kind of referendum, the Information Centre points out.
But then, the report about setting up this kind of initiative group has thus far failed to be confirmed by other sources, as well as by other language versions of the Palestinian Information Centre, owned by the radical movement HAMAS, currently at the helm in the Gaza Strip, NEWSru Israel points out. Nor has there been any reaction from the HAMAS leadership to the news. The publication suggests in this context that the Russian language version report is just a canard to attract more readers amid the general interest in the Crimea joining Russia issue.
Also questionable is the reported number of Russian nationals making their home in Gaza. The Russian media reported in December 2012 that the number of Russian passport holders in the Gaza Strip made up slightly fewer than 400.