CONCORD, New Hampshire: Voters in the US northwestern state of New Hampshire won’t be asked to add a secession clause triggered by the national debt to the state constitution, nor will lawmakers study the broader issue of breaking away from the country.
Without debate, the House on Thursday rejected a proposed constitutional amendment that would require the state to proceed as a sovereign nation if the national debt reaches $40 trillion. Also killed was a bill that would have created a committee to study the “economic, legal and sociological aspects of New Hampshire exerting its sovereign state rights.”
A comparable proposal calling for the state to secede failed two years ago by a similarly overwhelming margin. Some of the sponsors of that amendment also had signed a manifesto declaring New Hampshire’s government “illegitimate,” calling Gov. Chris Sununu a tyrant and insisting that the 2020 elections were invalid due to fraud.
Changing the New Hampshire constitution requires the support of three-fifths of the Legislature to put the question to voters, who then must approve amendments by at least a two-thirds majority.
Similar secession efforts have failed in other states, including Mississippi and South Carolina. Rep. Jason Gerhard, sponsor of the latest New Hampshire amendment, tried to align himself with secessionists in Texas with a letter sent Wednesday to the head of the Texas Nationalist Movement. For years, some far-right activists have promoted the fringe idea that Texas could leave the US and become independent, but those efforts have not gained traction.
“Together, both states can uphold the principle of freedom and autonomy,” wrote Gerhard, a Republican from Northfield who spent 12 years in prison for helping a New Hampshire couple escape capture on tax evasion charges. Ed and Elaine Brown remained holed up in an armed standoff at their home in Plainfield for months before being arrested in 2007.
Break away from the USA? New Hampshire state once again says nay
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Break away from the USA? New Hampshire state once again says nay
- House overwhelmingly rejects proposed constitutional amendment that would require the state to proceed as a sovereign nation if the national debt reaches $40 trillion
- Similar secession efforts have failed in other states, including Mississippi and South Carolina. A fringe idea that Texas could become independent has also not gained traction
Kyiv ready for talks ‘next week’ with US over Russia proposals: Zelensky
- “Ukraine is ready to work in all working formats,” said Zelensky.
- “It is important that there are results and that the meetings take place“
KYIV: Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday his negotiators were waiting to hear from the United States on further meetings about ending the war with Russia.
Zelensky’s remarks in his evening address appeared to suggest that a second round of talks scheduled to start in Abu Dhabi on Sunday between US, Russian and Ukrainian officials on ending the fighting had been postponed.
“Ukraine is ready to work in all working formats,” said Zelensky.
“It is important that there are results and that the meetings take place. We are counting on meetings next week and are preparing for them.”
Zelensky was speaking as US envoy Steve Witkoff said he had had “productive and constructive” talks with Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev in Florida on Saturday.
Teams from Ukraine and Russia met Friday and Saturday last week in Abu Dhabi in their first in-person negotiations on a plan being pushed by President Donald Trump to end the war.
They had agreed to resume talks there on Sunday.
On Thursday however, Zelensky suggested that the date and venue could change given the current tensions between Washington and Tehran.
The US says both sides are close to a deal, but they have so far been unable to find a compromise on the key issue of territory in a post-war settlement, according to Kyiv.
