“ When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.” -US Declaration of Independence

In a nearly unanimous vote, the Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors voted overwhelmingly in favor of secession from the state of California and to form a new state named Jefferson. They are inviting residents of neighboring Oregon and adjoining Californian towns to abandon their homes and join them in a venture to cast off the shackles of “regulation, restriction of rights, lack of representation, regionalism and restoration of limited government.”

From the Times-Standard:

”We have to have government that’s local, understands our issues and has empathy” for those affected, said Mark Baird, a Scott Valley rancher who’s also president for Scott Valley Protect Our Water and vice president of the Siskiyou Water User’s Association. Baird is leading the charge to form a new state from rural counties in Northern California and Southern Oregon, though he certainly wasn’t the only voice in support of the move.

More than 100 people packed the supervisors’ chambers Tuesday for the discussion on whether the county should issue a declaration that it wants to secede from the state. Nearly all those in attendance appeared to be for the move and about a dozen spoke in support of it.

”Many proposed laws are unconstitutional and deny us our God-given rights,” said Gabe Garrison of Happy Camp. “We need our own state so we can make laws that fit our way of life.”