The sentiment is good, but I don't think the grievant asks permission to secede from those causing the grievance. When you do, you get the response the LA grievant got from the Obama administration...uh, you need 25,000 signatures on your petition within 30 days before your petition can be recognized and forwarded to the appropriate department for an official response. Oh, yeah, and those 25,000 petitioners need to supply their email addresses so that the government's formal response can be emailed to each of them. My take: And then, of course, your names and addresses will be checked against your state's voting rolls to make sure you are valid citizens, each will have to provide a valid photo ID and birth certificate and all of you will be listed on the no-fly list, etc., etc., ad nauseum. Secession is a serious business I think and will never be allowed by paper. A government that little recognizes our rights under the U.S. Constitution will not tolerate secession. I applaud their pluck, however. Unless more than 25 states engage in this, no one will take it seriously. However, many states have a provision that citizens can petition their states to have measures put on the ballot within their respective states. Then the people in those states vote on the measure. If enough states do that, then the Feds will have no choice but to take notice, and so will the world. But this cannot be limited to states in the old South. Charges of racism and slavery will abound. My ole Daddy used to say: Don't start vast projects with half-vast ideas. But the idea is intriguing.