State Rep Mike Sylvia Committing Civil Disobedience in 2014
State representative Mike Sylvia of Belmont – the main sponsor of CACR 32, the historic NH Exit constitutional amendment – has spoken out via his blog on the subject of New Hampshire Independence. Written just days prior to the full house vote, Sylvia’s excellent piece is titled, “Sovereign State Or Branch Office of D.C. Inc.” In it, he demolishes the arguments against secession. You can read it here on his blog, but I have also pasted the text below to ensure it is not taken down if his site goes away at some point:
Sovereign State Or Branch Office of D.C. Inc.
In 1784 the people of New Hampshire formed a government, founded upon the sovereignty of the people. The people shared with that government a limited portion of their own sovereignty which was detailed in Part II of the New Hampshire constitution. Notably, the people retained to themselves rights which could not be infringed upon nor delegated to others. This is known as our New Hampshire Bill of Rights which make up Part I of our constitution.
The people of New Hampshire declared our State to be forever a sovereign state. (more…)
It was a historic day as New Hampshire was the first state since the “Civil War” to have a house floor discussion about secession. As reported on this blog previously, CACR 32 – the constitutional amendment that would have allowed NH voters to decide the question of declaring peaceful independence from the United States – was voted down 323-13 on Thursday. Now you can watch video of the full discussion from the floor of Rep’s Hall:
Don’t miss this post at Free Keene which gathers together seventeen hysterical posts from SHOCKED democrats in response to the heroic thirteen state reps who voted to try to stop CACR 32 from being killed.
We’re just getting started promoting independence for New Hampshire. CACR 32 was just the beginning to get the conversation going. Stay tuned here to NHexit.US for more. Meanwhile, be sure to sign the petition and join the community via the links in the top menu and help us do even more!
Today was the big day, the first time ever that a bill relating to New Hampshire independence was heard by the full state house. With over 330 of 400 reps in attendance, the historic proposed constitutional amendment was sadly shot down 323-13. We didn’t expect to win the first time out, of course. The point of CACR 32 was to get the conversation started.
No thanks however to multiple so-called “liberty reps” who put fear-based political concerns over principle and refused to back up the brave reps who sponsored this bill. I was there greeting the reps this morning as they entered Reps’ Hall and I heard various excuses. Free Stater rep Jess Edwards said it shouldn’t go to voters unless reps support the idea, and he doesn’t. This is literally the same thing some of the democrats told me as they were entering the chamber, expressing that they were against democracy as they see themselves as “gatekeepers”. One Democrat, rep Tim Egan, even admitted in an email to me, “legislators can absolutely not trust voters with this decision”. The state reps don’t trust you to decide, whether they be Republican or Democrat.
Representative Tom Ploszaj used the excuse that no one from his constituency had reached out to him in support of CACR 32. Of course the bill got very little attention in the media, so it’s likely few people were even aware of it. Ploszaj and other “liberty reps” seem very concerned with what voters would think if they voted in support of CACR 32. Ploszaj said in an email, “My personal opinion and stance on the CACR is irreverent [SIC] since I was elected to represent my district and uphold the Constitutions not to make decisions based on my own agendas.” This is a strange statement as we all know that no one can truly “represent” a diverse group of people. If Ploszaj ran a campaign and was honest about supporting liberty, then that is presumably why he was elected, not to do anything a handful of people who call him up suggest. If a few people called Ploszaj to request he sponsor some Communist legislation, I suspect he would say no, even though some constituents wanted it.
Jason Osborne, Free Stater and the current House Majority Leader said that he supports California seceding, but doesn’t think the people of New Hampshire want independence. He told me instead NH should lead the way for America. Another Free Stater, five-term rep Brian Seaworth expressed that he didn’t want to support the bill because he didn’t think it would pass and he felt that voting for it would put him in jeopardy of losing the next election. Melissa Blasek, state rep and executive director of Rebuild NH said that while she likes the idea, she’s worried the democrats will use it against her in her reelection campaign.
I guess we’ll see if the thirteen heroes who voted for this bill will be defeated in their re-election attempts later this year. What if they are re-elected? Will the “liberty reps” who refused to stand on principle develop a spine? Don’t get your hopes up.
Perhaps they’ll be prosecuted for treason or rebellion as statist rep Brodie Deshaies suggested in his attempts to intimidate the reps into opposing CACR 32. I’d bet against any reps being prosecuted. Despite the claims to the contrary, this was an attempt at peaceful secession. No violence was ever suggested. Secession is legal and constitutional, as rep Matt Santonastaso explained in his speech on the house floor today. Article one, section ten of the US Constitution outlines the specific things that states are not allowed to do. Leaving is not one of those prohibited things. In fact, secession isn’t talked about at all in the US Constitution. Therefore, it’s a right left to the states under the tenth amendment of the Bill of Rights. We CAN do this. Some state is going to be first to go. Whether it’s Texas, California, New Hampshire, or elsewhere, the only question is when.
The next big step for the NH Exit constitutional amendment, CACR 32, is this Thursday March 10th, when it will come to the full state house for a vote. Supporters of New Hampshire independence should immediately call or email their state representatives and ask them to support CACR 32. Please remind them that voting on CACR 32 is NOT a vote on state secession. Their vote is on whether or not to put the question on the ballot for the people to decide.
Many reps are confused and believe that if they vote to pass CACR 32 that they are supporting independence for NH and that is not true. Voting to kill CACR 32 means they are anti-democratic and do not want to allow the people of New Hampshire to vote on the matter. Please be kind to the confused reps and try to help them understand rather than getting upset.
Here’s a handy tool you can use to discover your local state reps and get their contact information. While you can contact more than just your area’s reps, reps outside your area may not consider your comments as seriously as your local reps. So, if your time is limited, keep your state rep outreach to your area’s reps only.
Second, if you have free time this Thursday March 10th, please show up at the state house in Concord at 107 N Main St for their full house session where CACR 32 will be heard. We do not know the exact time CACR 32 will come up, but it is expected to happen at some point. The session begins at 9am but some NH Independence activists will be arriving much earlier, some as early as 7:30am, for a rally outside the state house. Feel free to bring signs or shirts promoting independence for New Hampshire. Be sure to also connect with our chat rooms on Matrix or Telegram to help coordinate. Both chat rooms are linked together, so if you join one, you needn’t join the other.
Earlier this winter, the committee hearing the bill voted it “Inexpedient to Legislate” 21-0, however there are 400 state reps in New Hampshire and because it’s a constitutional amendment any vote of the full house must be a “roll call” vote. Roll call means that each representative’s vote is recorded so we know how each state rep voted. We need to be present on Thursday to show them there is support for CACR 32 and that we are watching to see how they vote. See you Thursday morning at the state house in Concord!
Supporters of NH independence packed the public hearing this week for CACR 32, the historic constitutional amendment that would allow voters to decide to secede peacefully from the United States. The next morning, the Federal Relations committee had their “executive session” on the bill and after some discussion of how truly ignorant and cowardly they all are, they voted 21-0 to recommend the bill be killed. Here’s the video including the committee’s vote and prior discussion:
They gobbled up the lies from Rep Brodie Deshaies who suggested to the reps that they could be removed from office for “rebellion” if they supported this measure. He suggested it would violate their oath of allegiance to the United States, even though the US has violated its own constitution plenty of times and the bill would merely give the people of NH the opportunity to vote.
A rep who supports the empire could still have voted for this bill, simply to let the people decide. However all of the cowards on this committee refused to support your right to vote on the question. They think they know what is best. Why are they so afraid of letting people have their say? If the people of NH support the US empire, they would surely vote to stay, so why not put it to a vote?
Empire Loyalist Brodie Deshaies, the lying Republican state rep from Wolfeboro. Rated a “C” by the New Hampshire Liberty Alliance
From the discussion it was clear that they hadn’t even read or understood the simple, two sentence amendment. Some reps complained that the amendment contradicted the seventh article of the NH constitution’s bill of rights, since it mentions some rights delegated to the United States. However, the final sentence of CACR 32’s blissfully short amendment clearly says all other references to the US are nullified:
“Are you in favor of amending the first part of the constitution by inserting after article 7 a new article to read as follows:
[Art.] 7-a. [Independent Nation.] New Hampshire peaceably declares independence from the United States and immediately proceeds as a sovereign nation. All other references to the United States in this constitution, state statutes and regulations are nullified.”
Other objections from the committee were of the typical sort. Some wanted “a plan”, others want “free” health care from the feds. What about taking care of elderly people? All of their concerns were addressed by the various speakers during the hearing on the bill – watch the full hearing here – but it appears not a single one of the reps listened. Some just called us crazy.
Even Rep Susan DeLemus, whose husband was wrongfully imprisoned by the feds for five years, who had told the President of the Foundation for NH Independence that she would vote for the bill, voted against it.
Despite this setback, the full house of 400 reps will have to vote on CACR 32 via a “roll call” and so they will all be on the record. Do they support allowing the people to have a say on the future of their freedom, or not? Stay tuned to NHexit.US for the latest.
By now, you may already know about the historic, first-ever public hearing on NH independence constitutional amendment CACR 32 happening this Thursday, January 20th at 3:30pm in room 206 of the Legislative Office Building in Concord, NH. However, you may not know that there is a rally happening prior to the hearing, starting at 2pm in front of the LOB at 33 N State St. Supporters of NH Exit will be gathering to hold signs, NH flags, network, listen to speakers, and join in singing the New Hampshire National Anthem!
In addition to the rally at 2pm, just before the hearing we’ll hold a press conference in the lobby of of Legislative Office Building starting at 3pm. It will feature, at minimum, CACR 32 bill sponsor Rep. Mike Sylvia of Belmont and the president of the Foundation for NH Independence, Alu Axelman.
Dress warm, bring your friends and NH flags and any pro-secession signage and join us this Thursday afternoon at 33 N State St. in Concord starting at 2pm! Whether you can or can’t attend, please read this post to learn the steps you can take to help us get this constitutional amendment passed!
