Almost Heaven


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Most Americans over the age of 40 know how the state of West Virginia was formed. For the youngsters, or for readers in the Far Abroad, this is what happened:

During the Recent Unpleasantness (a.k.a. the American Civil War or the War Between the States) counties in the western part of Virginia voted to secede from Virginia after Virginia seceded from the Union. They then established themselves as the separate and independent State of West Virginia.

Those good folks out in Them Thar Hills are close kin to the rural residents of the Commonwealth of Virginia, especially in the counties hard on the border with West Virginia — Buchanan, Tazewell, Bland, Giles, Craig, Alleghany, Bath, Augusta, Rockbridge, etc.

Now West Virginia is offering an opportunity to the 2nd Amendment Sanctuary counties and localities here in Virginia: If we want to secede from the tyrannical government in Richmond, we are invited to apply for admission to the State of West Virginia.

The counties up there along the Blue Ridge may well jump at the opportunity, and some of the ones down here in the Piedmont could follow suit. I don’t know if the same sentiment would extend all the way east to Tidewater and the Eastern Shore, but it could be that all the declared sanctuary counties and cities would want to stick together. If they do, most of the Commonwealth of Virginia will abscond to West Virginia, leaving only Northern Virginia (the Wretched Hive of Scum and Villainy) and a few progressive islands such as Richmond and Albemarle County (with its embedded Li’l Kumquat, Charlottesville). In other words, the original Commonwealth of Virginia will have been almost completely reconstituted.

Now, that’s one of history’s little ironies.

Below is the full text (also archived here) of the bill introduced yesterday in the West Virginia House of Delegates:

House Concurrent Resolution 8

(By Delegates Howell, Summers, Shott, Householder, C. Martin, Hott, Graves, Cadle, Barnhart, J. Jeffries, Maynard, Phillips, Foster, Hamrick, Steele, D. Jeffries, Wilson, Waxman, Bartlett, Paynter and Linville)

[Introduced January 14, 2020]

Providing for an election to be had, pending approval of the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Virginia, and a majority of qualified citizens voting upon the proposition prior to August 1, 2020, for the admission of certain counties and independent cities of the Commonwealth of Virginia to be admitted to the State of West Virginia as constituent counties, under the provisions of Article VI, Section 11 of the Constitution of West Virginia

Whereas, The Legislature of West Virginia finds that in 1863, due to longstanding perceived attitudes of neglect for the interests of the citizens of Western Virginia, and a studied failure to address the differences which had grown between the counties of Western Virginia and the government at Richmond, the Commonwealth of Virginia was irretrievably divided, and the new State of West Virginia was formed; and

Whereas, Such division occurred as the Trans-Allegheny portions of Virginia perceived that they suffered under an inequitable measure of taxation by which they bore a disproportionate share of the tax burden; and

Whereas, That this perception was further compounded by the effects of a scheme of representation by which Trans-Allegheny Virginia was not allowed to have its proper and equitable share of representation in the government at Richmond; and

Whereas, That this arrangement arguably resulted in the tax dollars of Trans-Allegheny Virginia being used to enrich the Tidewater through internal improvements which did not benefit the people of Western Virginia, while the people of the Trans-Allegheny had little to no say in how their tax dollars were allocated; and

Whereas, Though this course led to an irreconcilable division, and the subsequent formation of West Virginia, yet, the longstanding peaceful cooperation between this State and the Commonwealth of Virginia is a sign that such separation, undertaken even under the most challenging and onerous of circumstances, can, with the passage of time, yield lasting results which are beneficial to both sides; and

Whereas, In the intervening years, the same neglect for the interests of many of the remaining counties of the Commonwealth of Virginia has allegedly been evidenced by the government at Richmond; and

Whereas, Particularly, many citizens of the Southside, the Shenandoah Valley, Southwestern Virginia, and the Piedmont contend that an inequitable measure of taxation exists by which they bear a disproportionate share of the present tax burden of the Commonwealth; and

Whereas, The people of the Southside, the Shenandoah Valley, Southwestern Virginia, and the Piedmont also believe that, currently, a scheme of representation exists by which the citizens of Southside, the Shenandoah Valley, Southwestern Virginia, and the Piedmont do not have a proper share of representation in the government at Richmond; and, consequently

Whereas, The people of the Southside, the Shenandoah Valley, Southwestern Virginia, and the Piedmont believe that their tax dollars are used to enrich the Tidewater and Northern Virginia through internal improvements which do not benefit the people of these other parts of Virginia, while the people of these other parts of Virginia have little to no say in how their tax dollars are allocated; and

Whereas, In recent days, these tensions have been compounded by a perception of contempt on the part of the government at Richmond for the differences in certain fundamental political and societal principles which prevail between the varied counties and cities of that Commonwealth; and

Whereas, In the latest, and most evident, in this string of grievances, the government at Richmond now seeks to place intolerable restraints upon the rights guaranteed under the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution to the citizens of that Commonwealth; and

Whereas, The Legislative body of West Virginia believes that this latest action defies the wise counsel which has come down to us in the august words of our common Virginia Founders: as the government at Richmond now repudiates the counsel of that tribune of liberty, Patrick Henry-who stated to the Virginia Ratifying Convention in 1788 that “The great object is that every man be armed. Everyone who is able might have a gun”; and

Whereas, The government at Richmond now repudiates the counsel of a Signer of the Declaration and premier advocate of American independence, Richard Henry Lee-who stated in The Federal Farmer that “To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms”; and

Whereas, The government at Richmond now repudiates the counsel of that zealous guardian of our inherent rights, George Mason-who stated that “To disarm the people…[i]s the most effectual way to enslave them”; and

Whereas, The government at Richmond now repudiates the counsel of the declaimer of our independence and theoretician of our freedoms, Thomas Jefferson-who stated in his first draft of the Virginia Constitution, that “No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms”; and

Whereas, The Boards of Supervisors of many Virginia counties and the Councils of many Virginia cities have recognized this dangerous departure from the doctrine of the Founders on the part of the government at Richmond; and

Whereas, These Boards of Supervisors and Councils have passed resolutions refusing to countenance what they affirm are unwarranted and unconstitutional measures by that government to infringe the firearm rights of Virginians; and

Whereas, The actions of the government at Richmond undertaken since the recent general election have, regrettably, resulted in unproductive contention and escalating a lamentable state of civic tension; and

Whereas, That, as has been proven in numerous instances, such as have been observed internationally in more recent times with the peaceful dissolutions of Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union, and the creation of South Sudan, or, earlier in Virginia’s own history, with the formation of Kentucky, the peaceful partition of neighboring peoples can occur, and, is often very beneficial to both sides in reducing tensions and improving the tenor of discourse over ongoing political and societal differences; and

Whereas, Article VI, Section 11 of The Constitution of the State of West Virginia explicitly permits additional territory to be admitted into, and become part of this state, with the consent of the Legislature and of a majority of the qualified voters of the state; and

Whereas, In a spirit of conciliation, the Legislature of West Virginia hereby extends an invitation to our fellow Virginians who wish to do so, to join us in our noble experiment of 156 years of separation from the government at Richmond; and, we extend an invitation to any constituent county or city of the Commonwealth of Virginia to be admitted to the body politic of the State of West Virginia, under the conditions set forth in our state Constitution, specifically, with the consent of a majority of the voters of such county or city voting upon such proposition; and we hereby covenant that their many grievances shall be addressed, and, we further covenant with them that their firearms rights shall be protected to the fullest extent possible under our Federal and State Constitutions; and

Whereas, Providing that the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Virginia shall give its assent to any county or independent city presently part of the Commonwealth of Virginia having the opportunity and ability to do so, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Legislature of West Virginia:

That the question of admission, or, the rejection of such admission, of any county or independent city of the Commonwealth of Virginia desiring admission to the State of West Virginia, and a majority of whose qualified voters, voting on the question, have approved such measure, prior to August 1, 2020, shall be submitted to the voters of the State of West Virginia at the next general election to be held in the year 2020.

Such proposal shall be placed upon the general election ballot in the following form: “Shall the following county (or independent city) _____________________(name), currently a constituent part of the Commonwealth of Virginia, be admitted to the State of West Virginia as a constituent county of the State of West Virginia.”

Should the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Virginia give its assent to any county or independent city presently part of the Commonwealth of Virginia having the opportunity to do so, and such county or independent city desiring admission to the State of West Virginia, and a majority of whose qualified voters, voting on the question, not have approved such measure prior to August 1, 2020, but do approve such measure at a later date;

Then, this provision of this Act shall serve as an official request of the Legislature of West Virginia to the Governor of West Virginia to call a special session of this Legislature to provide for a special election to provide for the approval of the admission, or, the rejection of such admission, of such county or independent city; and, be it

Further Resolved, That the Legislature directs that the Clerk of the House forward copies of this resolution to the Board of Supervisors of each county in the Commonwealth of Virginia who have voted to become sanctuary counties for firearms rights, and to the Council of each independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia who have voted to become sanctuary cities for firearms rights; and, be it

Further Resolved, That the Legislature directs that the Clerk of the House forward copies of this resolution to the Clerk of the House of Delegates and Clerk of the Senate of the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Virginia and requests, in a spirit of peace and goodwill, that the General Assembly will allow this measure for the peaceful transfer of peoples and the restoration of harmony to the Virginias; and, further requests, in a continuance of such spirit, that any firearms legislation proposed by that body have an effective date far enough into the future so that this exchange of peoples and territory could be accomplished before the effective date of such legislation.

Hat tip: JJ, via Twitter.

23 thoughts on “Almost Heaven

  1. Okay, where does the authority of the State end and the legal authority of the county begin?
    What if the County of San Bernardino became tired of its governance and plans for the future being continually frustrated by the State in Sacramento as it has been for the past 15+ years. Could San Bernardino County secede from the State of California and be joined to the State of Arizona?
    Gentlemen, we have a Constitutional precedent in the works here. Stay tuned, film of Supreme Court hearing at 11PM.
    And now a word from our sponsor, Georgia Pork Products, the home of Macon Bacon.

    • West Virginia is the precedent — the counties voted & seceded in 1863, each joining the new state piecemeal. At least that’s the way I read it. Based on that, I don’t see how a federal court could justify striking it down. But one probably will, anyway. They don’t need no stinkin’ justification.

    • i think it is far easier for bordering counties in a state that was split once before. if this happens it would make a place like san berdoo able to do so, assuming arizona wants it.

      • san berdoo also borders nevada, so that could be another option. there is a legal way to create
        a new state, but the political hurdle makes it just about impossible…imagine washing ton an oregon splitting in 2, california into 3 or 4… each state gets 2 senators. dont think the senate wants 8 more west coast senators.. also each senator adds another electoral college vote..

    • No state, city, farm, or golf course can secede. You need a Constitutional Convention. After the War of Southern Aggression started at 4:00 AM on Fort Sumter, SC, the South Seceded. In the settlement, laws were passed such that no state can secede again. Nor even give up a city. SCOTUS would overturn in a heartbeat. If people persist they will face the USMC and the ARMY. Posse Comitatus would be suspended in that area. If you want to MOVE to West VA you are free and clear to do so legally. Texas v. Gates 1869.

      • Ike, they’re not seceeding from the union, they’re leaving one state for another. Not the same thing

  2. This is wonderful news. Congratulations to the brave citizens of Virginia and West Virginia. I hope that other states will follow suit. It would be wonderful if all the rest of New York could secede from NY City!

  3. This is a big deal. Northam has already pushed a tyrannical approach to stopping law abiding people from protesting the legislative actions against the right to bear arms. The West Virginia proposal is well thought out and quite serious. If something happens in Richmond, secession could involve half the counties in the state.

  4. Very brilliant move on the part of West Virginia.

    How can Governor Coonman ever again say with a straight face that his gun control laws must be respected since they were put to a vote and passed (notwithstanding the unconstitutionality of them) after multiple counties decide to put it to a vote to join West Virginia, of course which results Coonman will choose to ignore?

    Long term, this is a brilliant strategy for many beleagured parts of many leftist dominated states who are outnumbered and subject to the tyrannical majorities of a few large cities which consistently outvote their rural populations.

  5. If this happens, it should strike fear in the uber-left government in Olympia if counties in eastern Washington secede as a separate state or get invited to join Idaho. I’d be delighted to leave loony western Washington if I could find a decent job.

    • as with S. Berdoo and Rivercide counties here in SoCal.
      What concerns me however, and this should be a concern for everyone, is how we are being taken apart piece by piece. What if the West Virginia response as described above was considered as part of the scenario by those socialists who seek to destroy us. Divide and Conquer, isn’t that correct Julius?

      • Acuara…My house is currently pending sale in NorCal. An East Coast relative recently asked me the approximate year when California ceased to be a Republic and capitulated to blue state, social Communism? I stated 2010 when Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger left office and Democrat socialist Jerry Brown took office with Gavin Newsom as Lieutenant Governor. In less than a decade, the former “Golden State” became a cesspool of human excrement on city streets that currently hold 50% of America’s homeless population. Now we have a Virginia Governor trying to strip away Second Amendment rights of the people (citizens) to keep & bear arms! It’s a line in the sand worth fighting for Americans! If the left “progressives” succeed in abolishing one of the Bill of Rights, the others could also be rapidly eliminated! The First amendment “free speech” will be next on the chopping block! Especially any criticism of Islam, Muslims, Taqiyya, etc. Businesses, Corporations like Starbucks, the NFL & NBA have already bowed down to political pressures with their virtue signaling & political antics.

        This old military retiree is voting with his feet & moving to North Carolina where some common sense still prevails and the 82nd Airborne & Special Forces are nearby in proximity. If the U.S. military capitulates to political pressures, we are all doomed with nowhere to escape the coming dystopian, globalist nightmare called Agenda 21 and/or the Great Tribulation in Biblical prophecy.

  6. I’d far prefer to vote my way out from under the boot of Governor Blackface and his gun grabbing globalist minions than to settle this the old fashioned way.

    • I am afraid that time has come and passed us by, we were complacent, lazy and feckless to the point that the left bypassed us and went straight to international socialist policies and could care less what us mere peons have to say about anything since our betters like Soros and Bloomberg know far better than we do as to run our lives. The left thought they can get away with what they are doing without so much as a whimper, they thought wrong and are about to be horrifically surprised and shocked as to what is coming, they thought that by poking the sleeping bear, that the bear would never awake, well the bear is stirring from it’s slumber.

  7. No law abiding people who would be enforcing the current laws would have to seek such remedies for the abuses of power by those like Northam and his sponsor Bloomberg. It would almost seem that nobody in the Judiciary in Virginia is upholding law when they deprive their citizenry of their basic rights such as the right to self defense. Since this is a life or death issue I would guess the penalty would be the greatest for such encroachments…

    U.S. Code, Title 18, Part I, Chapter 13, § 242 – Deprivation of rights under color of law “…makes it a crime for any person acting under color of law, statute, ordinance, regulation, or custom to willfully deprive or cause to be deprived from any person those rights, privileges, or immunities secured or protected by the Constitution and laws of the United States.” …”shall be fined under this title, or imprisoned for any term of years or for life, or both, or may be sentenced to death.”

    …so is there so much disregard for the rule of law that such laws are no longer enforced in this country? People need to ask why they aren’t even considered especially in this instance in the State of Virginia. Do we still possess our Constitutional Republic of the United States of America or not?

    Marbury vs. Madison, the 1803 decision: “All laws which are repugnant to the Constitution, are null and void.” Chief Justice Marshall, Marbury v. Madison, 5, U.S. (Cranch) 137,174,176.

    “The claim and exercise of a Constitutional right cannot be converted to a crime.” Miller v. U. S., 230 F 486 at 489

    …this is the law in America. So why isn’t the law of the land being no longer observed?

    • Because the left think they can get away with and they of course know what is better for us and what are those old ancient laws about anyway?

  8. Sad stuff all of these politicians overriding the Constitution.
    This Aussie now a US resident is amazed that the good folks do not get their voting act together or is it the majority of the citizenship are left minded sheeple and following the shepherd (a wolf’s in sheep’s clothing).

    This once democrat is appalled at how the tide has turned in this great country.

    I cry out for conservatives in CA and VA to get out the vote and rid yourselves of the tyrants in charge.

    I know they are tyrants, after 40+ years in CA I left for America, land of the free and home of the brave, AZ.

  9. This is a wonderful idea! Take Virginia’s slogan too, we don’t love them anymore!

  10. I am sorry to see that it has come to this. However; the consequences of remaining idle when the privelige of voting comes around can truly be seen here. EVERY VOTE IS IMPORTANT. Enjoying the benefits of citizenship requires the responsibility of taking the time necessary to be aware of what is going on in your local. If jurisdictions are being changed, if voter registration is being challenged, if anything that alters the outcome of an election occures it must be challenged immediately. Trusting in the media to tell you about it is foolishness at best. Ultimately we are responsible. To snooze is to loose.

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