# People in 20 states file petitions to secede **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [November 13, 2012, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-in-20-states-file-petitions-to-secede/640879 "2012-11-13T13:30:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![NUMBER1GIRL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb8c5e/32.png) [@NUMBER1GIRL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NUMBER1GIRL)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2012, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-in-20-states-file-petitions-to-secede/640879/81 "2012-11-14T02:48:31Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Nobody tell her about the Petraeus thing. > > For the record, though, there is no verification process for the petitions. To create an account all you have to do is enter your name and zip code, and then it looks like you can start and sign as many petitions as you want. It would take an enormous leap of faith to believe all the signatures and locations are genuine because that would run contrary to pretty much the entire history of the internet and all anonymous communication anywhere ever. Petraeus wanna go there? Im ALL IN Marley23 ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2012, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-in-20-states-file-petitions-to-secede/640879/82 "2012-11-14T02:48:41Z")
> [@Lord\_Feldon](#): > > But does anything stop someone in Texas from signing the Delaware petition? No. Like I was saying, all you have to do is register an account is enter a first and last name and a zip code. There is no verification, and there’s no way to restrict what petitions people sign based on location because that wasn’t the intent of the site. [Here is the Texas petition.](https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/peacefully-grant-state-texas-withdraw-united-states-america-and-create-its-own-new-government/BmdWCP8B) In the ten most recent signatures I can see, there are three people who didn’t give their location, three alleged Texans, and one person each who purported to be from North Carolina, Iowa, Florida, and Nebraska. > [@NUMBER1GIRL](#): > > Im ALL IN Marley23 I could not care less. On the scale of being “ALL IN” for something, signing an online petition rates even lower than a bumper sticker. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2012, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-in-20-states-file-petitions-to-secede/640879/83 "2012-11-14T02:48:49Z")
400,000-plus sign petition urging Macy’s to dump Donald Trump: Read more: [400,000-plus sign petition urging Macy's to dump Donald Trump over his views on Obama and 'sexist' comments](http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/400-000-petition-macy-dump-donald-trump-article-1.1200831#ixzz2CA4J9rEX) ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2012, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-in-20-states-file-petitions-to-secede/640879/84 "2012-11-14T02:49:26Z")
I think we should just let this continue until all fifty states have asked to secede. And then let them all go. I figure it’ll be just like what happened in 1860. As soon as those states secede, they’ll get together and form a new country with the same constitution. Then the people in the fifty states of this new country will want to choose a leader. So they’ll have an election to pick their President. And we’ve just found out who these people will pick as their President. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2012, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-in-20-states-file-petitions-to-secede/640879/85 "2012-11-14T02:49:59Z")
> [@NUMBER1GIRL](#): > > Nope Im just saying. Almost every state has a petition. Thats a lot of angry Americans or Illegals. It’s an ugly picture. Thousands of petulant conservative crybabies throwing an internet temper tantrum because they lost some elections in which they embarrassed themselves with repellent candidates and dumb policy positions does indeed make an ugly picture. It does not, however, make any kind of picture that is even remotely impressive. All these petitions show is that some thousands of petulant conservative crybabies are able to click a mouse. If they thought there was the remotest possibility that they might actually get their demands and have to do the real work of creating and running a national government, instead of just sitting around in front of Fox News and bitching about the real government, they’d be shitting themselves in terror. [QUOTE=NUMBER1GIRL] Last time States wanted out South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas… well you know what happened. [/quote] I do. A bunch of racist slavery-loving shits started a real live war rather than give up the privilege of enslaving and maltreating fellow human beings. [QUOTE=NUMBER1GIRL] They got out. That wasn’t left and right it was North and South. But don’t worry history never repeats its self. [/QUOTE] You mean, might a new bunch of racist shits start another real live war because they’re having a hissy fit at their government? Nah, I don’t think so. Remember, we’re talking petulant conservative crybabies throwing an internet temper tantrum here. ---
**Author:** ![NUMBER1GIRL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb8c5e/32.png) [@NUMBER1GIRL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NUMBER1GIRL)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2012, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-in-20-states-file-petitions-to-secede/640879/86 "2012-11-14T03:01:52Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > No. Like I was saying, all you have to do is register an account is enter a first and last name and a zip code. There is no verification, and there’s no way to restrict what petitions people sign based on location because that wasn’t the intent of the site. [Here is the Texas petition.](https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/peacefully-grant-state-texas-withdraw-united-states-america-and-create-its-own-new-government/BmdWCP8B) In the ten most recent signatures I can see, there are three people who didn’t give their location, three alleged Texans, and one person each who purported to be from North Carolina, Iowa, Florida, and Nebraska. > > I could not care less. On the scale of being “ALL IN” for something, signing an online petition rates even lower than a bumper sticker. I don’t sign petitions. What i meant is Im ALL IN on the Petraeus story/ soap opera. It’s interesting as the plot thickens. FYI Bumper stickers = road rage ---
**Author:** ![Linden\_Arden](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/53a042/32.png) [@Linden\_Arden](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Linden_Arden)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2012, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-in-20-states-file-petitions-to-secede/640879/87 "2012-11-14T03:07:27Z")
If a state secedes then its residents would forfeit entitlements. Now let them vote on it. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2012, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-in-20-states-file-petitions-to-secede/640879/88 "2012-11-14T03:09:09Z")
> [@NUMBER1GIRL](#): > > Last time States wanted out South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas… well you know what happened. They got out. You never finished _ **Gone with the Wind** _, did you? ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2012, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-in-20-states-file-petitions-to-secede/640879/89 "2012-11-14T03:14:53Z")
Ridicule is the best disinfectant. I love the idea of the petition to deport these fools. Maybe I’ll start one to deport Creationists… ---
**Author:** ![Snupzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/54ee81/32.png) [@Snupzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snupzilla)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2012, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-in-20-states-file-petitions-to-secede/640879/90 "2012-11-14T03:16:04Z")
> [@Lord\_Feldon](#): > > But does anything stop someone in Texas from signing the Delaware petition? My assumption is that a lot of supporters are signing every petition. Considering Delaware is a fictional state invented by corporations to give themselves tax breaks, I imagine all the votes are from out of state 😉 But seriously, yeah most of the votes are from out of state. The whole site is a ridiculous waste of time. Maintaining a website for online petitions is just a silly thing for the White House to do. Does anyone expect anything but crap from it? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2012, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-in-20-states-file-petitions-to-secede/640879/91 "2012-11-14T03:18:52Z")
> [@NUMBER1GIRL](#): > > I don’t sign petitions. Common sense prevails! ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2012, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-in-20-states-file-petitions-to-secede/640879/92 "2012-11-14T04:08:52Z")
For some reason, I keep thinking of the Heinlein story, “[Coventry](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coventry_%28short_story%29)”. The petitions and their signers are good for a giggle. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2012, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-in-20-states-file-petitions-to-secede/640879/93 "2012-11-14T04:13:55Z")
I signed the one that said to “deport everyone”. I stopped reading the proposal after that, because it just seems like the right thing to do. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2012, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-in-20-states-file-petitions-to-secede/640879/94 "2012-11-14T04:25:19Z")
> [@NUMBER1GIRL](#): > > . . . the Obamanation. :rolleyes: It wasn’t funny when Jerome Corsi did it, either. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2012, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-in-20-states-file-petitions-to-secede/640879/95 "2012-11-14T04:27:46Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > … Maybe I’ll start one to deport Creationists… Nah, only allow them to get flu shots containing the previous year’s formulation . . . then expose them to this year’s flu strains. CMC ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2012, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-in-20-states-file-petitions-to-secede/640879/96 "2012-11-14T04:37:18Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > I’ve always thought the Texans must have been the most surprised by the Civil War. > They’d been in for just thirteen years, and decided, “Well, this was a bad idea. We’ll quit.” > > 🙂 [Sam Houston](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_in_the_American_Civil_War#Secession_Convention_and_the_Confederacy)won the Battle of San Jacinto–where Santa Ana was finally defeated; he was Governor in 1861. > [@](#): > > Let me tell you what is coming. After the sacrifice of countless millions of treasure and hundreds of thousands of lives you may win Southern independence if God be not against you, but I doubt it. The North is determined to preserve this Union. They are not a fiery impulsive people as we are…but once they begin to move in a given direction, they move with the steady momentum of a mighty avalanche, and what I fear is that they will overwhelm the South with ignoble defeat. He’d accepted the vote for Secession but refused to swear allegiance to the Confederacy & was deposed from the Governorship. Houston’s opinion of Jefferson Davis, variously worded from different sources: “ambitious as Lucifer and cold as a lizard.” ---
**Author:** ![sunstone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunstone/32/3372_2.png) [@sunstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sunstone)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2012, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-in-20-states-file-petitions-to-secede/640879/97 "2012-11-14T04:50:55Z")
Just a very small addition to the thread. After secession, I wonder how Arizona will protect their borders, especially the one with Mexico? I see a Mexican takeover in Arizona’s future… I expect the Mexican government would not require IDs be displayed from the ex Arizonans after they take over the state. But most of us wouldn’t be allowed to own guns as Mexicans. I pick dibs on the copyright for the idea of this potential satirical book and following movie. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2012, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-in-20-states-file-petitions-to-secede/640879/98 "2012-11-14T05:06:27Z")
> [@sunstone](#): > > Just a very small addition to the thread. After secession, I wonder how Arizona will protect their borders, especially the one with Mexico? I see a Mexican takeover in Arizona’s future… I daresay many Arizonans see it in the recent past. ---
**Author:** ![Sparky\_the\_Wonder\_Spirit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@Sparky\_the\_Wonder\_Spirit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparky_the_Wonder_Spirit)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2012, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-in-20-states-file-petitions-to-secede/640879/99 "2012-11-14T05:16:10Z")
> [@NUMBER1GIRL](#): > > Last time States wanted out South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas… well you know what happened. They got out. That wasn’t left and right it was North and South. But don’t worry history never repeats its self. So, what you’re saying is, we should find the petition-signers, burn their houses down, and then make documentaries where we slowly pan over pictures of the wreckage to the mournful strains of _Ashokan Farewell_? I mean, hell, I’m not doing anything else this weekend. ---
**Author:** ![Aquadementia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aquadementia/32/555_2.png) [@Aquadementia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aquadementia)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2012, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-in-20-states-file-petitions-to-secede/640879/100 "2012-11-14T06:29:17Z")
It’s more ironic then funny that members of the party of Lincoln would become the new Confederates after the election of our first black president. > [@carnivorousplant](#): > > You guys are going to deport US citizens? > How did you set this up? If they are making clear their intent to leave the union why persist in calling them United States citizens? The usual way to do this is to go to the U.S. embassy or consulate in a foreign nation and sign an oath to that effect. They’ll have to do it on their own dime. It could be helpful to print up some pamphlets instructing them how to do that and where in Argentina and Liberia to go. There’s no provision to take your land out of the United States of America with you. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-in-20-states-file-petitions-to-secede/640879.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-in-20-states-file-petitions-to-secede/640879.md?page=6)