"Derrick B.," the man who started a petition seeking Alabama's withdrawal from the U.S., is a truck driving, knife collecting former owner of a topless car wash who describes himself as "an absolute Libertarian."

Derrick Belcher, 45, of Chunchula, said in an interview late Monday that secession may be the only way to save working Americans from crushing debt, burdensome federal regulations and rising taxes.

“I don’t want to live in Russia. I don’t believe in socialism,” said Belcher, an operations manager for a Mobile trucking company. “America is supposed to be free.”

Belcher said he posted his petition Friday on the White House web site after hearing about a similar petition filed by a Louisiana resident. More than 30 states have since followed, and Belcher's petition has gained more than 18,000 signatures –- well on its way toward reaching the 25,000 threshold for receiving an official response from the White House.

A petition for Texas reached that milestone on Monday and had more than 62,000 signatures as of this morning.

When Alabama meets the requirement, Belcher said, he’ll deliver a copy of the petition to Gov. Robert Bentley, seeking formal action by the state.

Belcher said he believes secession can work if states band together to support each other.

“I don’t think any one state can stand alone. But if we’ve got 20 of them, then that starts to be something ,” Belcher said. “If you look at a map of the red states, we have all of the oil and we produce all of the food. We’re the ones that are carrying the rest of the nation.”

Belcher said he is a Libertarian and that he supported Ron Paul as a candidate for president. He said President Barack Obama won re-election last week because of voters who are dependent on the federal government.

“They throw all this on the working man’s back –- they make us pay for welfare and all these other programs,” he said.

Secession, he said, would allow Alabama and other states to stop entitlement programs.

“The people who want those handouts, it’ll force them to move to a different state,” he said. “It will consolidate working people and that’s how we turn things around.”

Belcher, who is white, said race was not a factor in his support of secession.

“It’s economics -– just that simple,” he said. “I’m working poor. And I work -– I’ve never taken a dime from the government. I’ll starve before I take a handout. That’s what being a true American is all about.”

Belcher blamed the government for shutting down his former business. Belcher said his Euro Details car wash, which featured topless women, was successful for a decade on Halls Mill Road in Mobile. But he said he was arrested and charged with obscenity by city officials in 2001.

“The government ripped my business away, and now they’re choking America to death with rules and regulations,” he said.

Belcher said he fully expects the petition to reach 25,000 signatures -– in fact, he’s aiming far higher, saying he’d like to double that number to ensure that it is recognized by the White House.

He said the petition got a jump start at a gun and knife show held at the Greater Gulf State Fairgrounds last weekend.

“Everybody got behind it. It’s done way better than I expected,” he said.