Portland, Ore.- Two Portland residents have filed a petition with the Oregon Secretary of State’s Office to secede from the United States and form a new country. The petition suggests joining other western states in which citizens are dissatisfied with the political landscape.
A section of the petition reads: The Governor and Legislature shall actively pursue Oregon’s peaceful secession from the United States of America. They shall seek secession alone or in conjunction with other states and Canadian provinces that seek to form a new nation, including but not limited to California, Washington, Hawaii, Nevada, Alaska and British Columbia.
The petition is separate from the ongoing State of Jefferson movement encompassing southern Oregon and northern California.
Meanwhile, a similar movement is in play in California. YesCalifornia is pushing for California to secede and become a separate country. It staged a daylong “informational session” Wednesday outside the State Capitol in Sacramento.
“In our view, the United States of America represents so many things that conflict with Californian values, and our continued statehood means California will continue subsidizing the other states to our own detriment, and to the detriment of our children,” the group says in a 33-page “CalExit Blue Book,” which was obtained by NBC News.
The movement “is about California taking its place in the world, standing as an equal among nations,” it says. “We believe in two fundamental truths: (1) California exerts a positive influence on the rest of the world, and (2) California could do more good as an independent country than it is able to do as a just a U.S. state.”
According to NBC News, California is the country’s most populous state, making up 11.6 percent of the U.S. population, according to mid-year figures from the U.S. Census. If it became a separate nation, it would be the 35th-biggest country on Earth, according to U.N. data.
You can read more about the Oregon petition here.
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