Wednesday, May 22, 2013

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Alaska Among States With Secessionist Advocates
Every state in the union has secession petitions
By Bill McAllister
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ANCHORAGE - In every single one of our 50 states, a group of people has signed petitions to secede from the United States.

Here in Alaska, a secessionist movement that's been on the back-burner is hoping for some momentum.

Since President Obama’s reelection on November 6, a flood of petitions to secede from the union has been posted at whitehouse.gov -- including one from Alaska.

"From one perspective, you can say it's sour grapes. You lost the election, it was a free and fair election; nobody disputes that,” said UAA political science professor Forrest Nabors.

Nabors says while the U.S. Constitution does not permit secession, the Declaration of Independence does give grounds for revolution.

"For these petitioners, including our own petitioners from Alaska, from the Alaska Independence Party, for them to make a case that is consistent with the founding principles of this country, they have to be able to show how natural right was violated."

For the head of the Alaskan Independence Party, our state would be justified in going its own way because of federal overreach on natural resource extraction.

"Well, first of all, let's start with EPA, let's start with the National Park Service, let's start with the national wildlife refuges, let's start with the regulation down to the bone of everyone's life in this nation,” said Lynette Clark, a gold miner north of Fairbanks.

Clark said she believes Alaska will gain independence through peaceful, lawful means. "It's going to take individuals, individual citizens, to instead of putting their mark down for a republocrat or demopublican or even independent, but stand with numbers in the Alaskan Independence Party in order to have a true voice and change the direction of politics in Alaska."

But it'll be dependent upon a sharp turn of events for secession to succeed.

Nabors said one way secession could happens is if the legislature puts a question on the ballot asking Alaskans whether you want to hold a convention to debate the idea and pass a resolution.