ARLINGTON, VA – When in the Pacific Northwest I received an email from Scott Barton, one of my former colleagues at the Institute for Humane Studies which put on our radar the secession movement in northern California/southern Oregon known as the Free State of Jefferson. I immediately emailed Brian Petersen, listed as the contact person on the site, and we nailed down a date for an interview. Despite having a set-back with MARV while heading his way, Petersen generously rescheduled and we were able to visit him on his beautiful property, with Mt. Shasta in the background.

In this video he shares some of the reasons he and many others in his area advocate for secession (emphasizing the peaceful nature of the movement) and gives an overview of the process as outlined by the U.S. and California Constitutions. As is clear, Petersen is a good guy – someone I wouldn’t mind having as a neighbor – he basically just thinks that it doesn’t makes sense that the folks hundreds of miles away get to call the shots about things in his area. I tend to agree.

On a random related note – a few weeks ago when at the Students For Liberty’s Mid-Atlantic Conference another attendee posed a question to the lecturer about the geographical size of an area able to be effectively governed, specifically mentioning California. I happened to be wearing the State of Jefferson hat given to me by Peterson, and was able to point to it and share a bit about the movement there with those present. Pretty cool.