Secession from the US or from a specific region in the United States isn’t a new concept.
On Wednesday, Texas, secessionist Rep. Kyle Biedermann (R) proposed a bill that would allow Texas to secede from the United States, allowing it to establish itself as an independent republic.
“Voters of all political persuasions in Texas can agree on one thing, Washington D.C. is and has been broken,” Biedermann said in the statement.
But is it common for a county to secede to a neighboring state?
Weld County, Colorado, with a population of 324,000, is hoping to leave the liberal state and become part of its conservative neighboring state, Wyoming.
The Statesman reports- According to the political committee “Weld County Wyoming,” the question is part of a new push to get a measure on the November ballot that would “instruct Weld County Commissioners to engage and explore the annexation of Weld County with the State of Wyoming’s Legislature.”
“Can this be done? Yes, it can be done. Is it going to be easy? No,” Christopher “Todd” Richards said during a meeting posted to YouTube in November.
“We’re going to move a county to a different state,” he explained during the meeting. “We’re not really moving. We’re just moving a line.”
The idea is to re-draw the state lines to exclude Weld County from Colorado and include it within Wyoming’s borders instead.
The Hill – The purpose of the measure is to “get out from under the thumb” of Colorado’s more liberal government, according to the group’s Facebook page.
“Denver and Boulder have declared war not only on Weld County, but common sense itself with regulations designed to kill energy jobs,” according to one November post. “Putting radical animal rights activists in positions of power over the ranching industry, two of Weld’s key economic drivers. They are also at war with small businesses. People who hold traditional values are vilified as racist homophobic (misogynist) bigots.”
An online petition, which currently has more than 8,400 signatures, also cites concerns about 2nd Amendment rights.
“Denver/Boulder have drove weapons manufacturers out of the state,” the petition states. “Rural schools, hospitals and all rural communities are getting ignored. Denver/Boulder only care about Denver/Boulder.”
Richards acknowledged that the process would be “long” and “daunting.”
Watch:
“Specifically for those of us who live in Weld County, we live in a state who is no longer a minister to us for good,” a pastor at the meeting posted to YouTube said. “The state of Colorado is at war with three major economic drivers for Weld County: small businesses, agriculture, and oil and gas.”
If Weld County joined Wyoming, the state’s population would increase by more than 50%; its current population is about 579,000.
