An abbreviated form of this Petition has been placed on the White House Website to receive public signatures. Links to the White House petition and a related Facebook page can be found at the end of this document.
Charleston County is a blue county, racially and cultural diverse and has had a long, problematic relationship with the rest of the state. Blue cities like Charleston are sprinkled across the red South, effectively cut off from participation in national political life and subject to the embarrassments and dysfunctions of red state rule.
We the undersigned Citizens of the United States respectfully petition the President, Barack Hussein Obama to create, with appropriate legislation from the US Congress, a special federal territory for Charleston and surrounding areas, politically independent and separate from the State of South Carolina.
1.The dimensions and borders of said federal territory shall be set by a commission of three persons appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate to encompass a population approximating that of the existing congressional districts within the state that's inhabitants shall include the necessary diversity and culture to sustain art, culture, education, social justice and the sustainable habits of gracious and tolerant living.
2.Upon approval by a two thirds vote of it's residents, said territory shall admitted into the union as an independent federal territory and be afforded one voting seat in the United States Congress (SC’s delegation shall be reduced accordingly) and when affiliated with other federal territories liberated from the dominance of red states such as Austin, New Orleans, and Asheville that's aggregate population shall exceed two million persons, one seat in the US Senate.
3.The Federal Territory of Charleston shall be entitled to establish a unicameral legislative body for it's local governance with representation from single member districts of a minimum of one representative for over 20 thousand population but not more than 31 total members, rounded if necessary to the next highest odd number. This body shall consist of representatives elected for alternating four year terms.
4.The rights and privledges of American citizens in the territory of Charleston shall be entitled to full and equal protection under the constitution and laws of the United States of America.
5.The United States Department of Homeland Security shall be charged with the regulation of the borders of Charleston and the admittance of visitors seeking pleasure or trade within the territory but in all cases excluding stock car racing and tractor pulls. The intrusions of large economic aggregations which sell bad coffee or tend to purchase the loyalites of unprincipled politicians shall likewise be prevented. This shall include corporations feeling entitled to tell citizens of the territory who they can sleep with, which conspire to deprive the population of affordable health care or which expect taxpayers to subsidize their corporate profits by putting their underpaid employees on public assistance.
6.Said Department shall also be charged with preventing any public official from permitting citizens of the territory’s personal financial transaction or health information data from being transferred to persons unknown, a degree of security heretofore denied to them
The abbreviated petition to President Obama may be found and signed at https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/...
The facebook page for Liberate Charleston can be found at http://www.facebook.com/...
November 25, 2012