a*o
发帖数: 25262 | 1 http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/texas-petition-secede-reaches-th
Texas Petition to Secede Reaches Threshold for Obama Comment
By SARAH PARNASS
Nov. 12, 2012
A petition for Texas to secede from the union, submitted to the White House,
reached the number of signatures needed to draw comment from the Obama
administration today.
The petition appeared on a section of the White House website called "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. A petition must reach 25,000
signatures within 30 days for the administration to comment on it.
The petition to "Peacefully grant the State of Texas to withdraw from the
United States of America and create its own NEW government," was submitted
on Friday of last week. Just three days later, it zoomed past the 25,000
mark at 3:22 p.m. today and kept going.
In order to sign a petition, users must register with the site using a valid
email address and entering their zip code. The site's terms of
participation indicates it has mechanisms in place to block spam, but it
does not say anything about verifying zip codes or state residency.
Many signatures on the petition came from Texas, but some also claimed to be
from other states, including Flagstaff, Ariz., Pinebluff, Ark., and Rio
Rancho, N.M. Some did not publicly list their residency.
Beer for the Masses Watch Video
Voting Machine Problems Reported in Texas Watch Video
Texas Leaders Back Bible Cheerleaders Watch Video
At least 17 other states have similar petitions to the Texas secession
request on the We the People forum including New Jersey, New York, Montana,
Colorado, Louisiana, Georgia, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, North
Carolina, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, South Carolina, Oregon and
Michigan. The closest behind Texas was Louisiana with 15,617 signatures.
In 2009, Texas Gov. Rick Perry hinted that anti-Washington sentiment could
lead residents of his state to seek independence from the union.
"There's a lot of different scenarios," Perry said. "We've got a great union
. There's absolutely no reason to dissolve it. But if Washington continues
to thumb their nose at the American people, you know, who knows what might
come out of that. But Texas is a very unique place, and we're a pretty
independent lot to boot."
A spokesperson for Perry said now more than ever, the U.S. needs Texans'
leadership.
"Gov. Perry believes in the greatness of our Union and nothing should be
done to change it. But he also shares the frustrations many Americans have
with our federal government," Perry Press Secretary Catherine Frazier said
in a statement to ABC News. "We cannot allow Washington's tax and spend, one
-size-fits-all mindset to jeopardize our children's future, undermine our
personal liberties and drive our nation down a dangerous path to greater
dependence of 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.
The White House has refused to comment on a requests for an investigation
into allegations that Rep. Chris Dodd took bribes, clemency for Native
American activist Leonard Peltier and the release of accused WikiLeaks
whistleblower Bradley Manning.
The White House did respond to a petition that gained fewer than 13,000
signatures this fall: the petition seeking the White House beer recipe. |
