As a bit of background, the "We The People" page allows people age 13 and over with a valid email address to create a petition (with at title no longer than 120 characters and text no longer than 800 characters) and post that petition for anyone with an account at the "We The People" site.
The "rules" of the site are fairly simple. After you create your petition, the site will assign a web address to the petition and provide it to you. You can then send the link to your petition to anyone you like. People may then go to your petition, click on the "sign this petition" button, and then they are presented with a link and additional buttons to share the petition by Twitter or Facebook. After the petition gets 150 "signatures" the petition can be found by searching the "We The People" site. Until the 150 signature threshold, the only way anyone will know about the petition is to be sent the direct link. The petition has 30 days to receive 25,000 signatures. If the petition receives 25,000 signatures within 30 days, the petition will be presented to a member of the White House Staff, and an Official Response will be posted by the White House (unless by doing so, there is a violation of law).
The Louisiana Petition was the first to be posted on November 7. The petition is as follows:
WE PETITION THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION TO: Peacefully grant the State of Louisiana to withdraw from the United States of America and create its own NEW government.
As the founding fathers of the United States of America made clear in the Declaration of Independence in 1776:
"When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation."
"...Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish it, and institute new Government..."
For the most part, the petitions for other States basically say the same thing, with the name of the State replaced. And no, none of these petitions are binding, and the ONLY outcome that MIGHT result from the petitions, is that some person in the administration of Our Great Leader, HRH Barack Hussein Obama (Peace Be Upon Him), might provide a polite response.
There are those that will say these petitions are just a waist of time-- except, they are a "message" to the White House of how unhappy people are.
And no, none of these petitions will result in a State being able to secede. To secede, Arizona, for example, would require acts of both Houses, the Governor, and likely a popular vote of the people to amend the Arizona Constitution- and beyond that, there are the implications of Amendment 14, Section 3 of the Constitution. Robert E. Lee was stripped of his rights under the 14th Amendment- His rights were restored by a 2/3 vote of the Congress-- in 1976 (yes nineteen seventy six).
I do not believe that ANYONE takes these "petitions" seriously- as far as anything "happening" or a state actually being able to secede because of the petitions. What those that are signing this petitions are really wanting is an HONEST, FRANK AND OPEN RESPONSE from the White House (not just something written by an intern who just got clearance to work in the White House yesterday).
I also think that people have found a way to vent their anger at the "government in general"-- the White House and the Congress. People want to feel like they are heard, and these "petitions" are a good- maybe even healthy- way to express an opinion and "believe" that a White House staff member may actually look at the "petition."
Too many times, people feel that there is no way to communicate to their government on an individual level-- hence the popularity of the Town Halls. People feel that unless you are a Lobbyist with a truck load of cash- or a person who can donate the "Federal maximum" to a campaign-- a member of the "Party Elite" (name the party-it is on both sides)-- or a member of the media- their voice, their opinions, their ideas do not matter- that no one will see or hear what they have to say. This "viral movement" has given people a chance to feel like they can 'get the attention' of someone in power- and they are getting on Facebook and Twitter and telling their friends, and encouraging them to sign up and "click" to express their opinion.
However, deep down inside, I don't believe that more than a handful of people think that clicking on a button on a web site will have effect on the governing or laws of this nation. IF people actually DO believe these petitions ARE going to result in secession, I believe that would actually be convinced it is time "education reform"- starting with the curriculum for US History and US Government...
SECESSION PETITIONS AND SIGNATURES AS OF 19:00 MST 11/13/2012
150 Signatures Required to View/25,000 in 30 Days for White House Response
(Some states have more than one petition. State names are to the petition with the highest number of signatures as of the time of this report. No petition listed is more than 6 days old)
87,761
|
7,553
|
|||
31,376
|
6,066
|
|||
26,588
|
5,819
|
|||
25,310
|
5,755
|
|||
24,448
|
5,264
|
|||
23,757
|
5,208
|
|||
23,384
|
4,483
|
|||
18,157
|
4,354
|
|||
17,432
|
4,195
|
|||
16,728
|
3,906
|
|||
15,691
|
3,057
|
|||
15,671
|
2,202
|
|||
15,063
|
2,143
|
|||
14,834
|
2,133
|
|||
14,450
|
2,067
|
|||
14,272
|
1,408
|
|||
13,889
|
981
|
|||
12,310
|
Connecticut
|
0
|
||
11,720
|
Hawaii
|
0
|
||
11,204
|
Iowa
|
0
|
||
10,775
|
Maine
|
0
|
||
9,596
|
Maryland
|
0
|
||
9,563
|
Massachusetts
|
0
|
||
8,591
|
Vermont
|
0
|
||
7,811
|
Washington
|
0
|
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