Photo by Bullneck

While D.C. has been fighting for statehood for years so its over 600,000 residents can have equal representation, a group of people who are already represented in Congress think they should have the 51st state.

As the Washington Times reports, voters in at least four rural counties in Colorado will vote on a ballot measure this November on the question of whether they should form North Colorado. Oil-rich Weld County is the latest to approve the measure. Here’s more from 9News in Denver:

The proposed language on the ballot will ask “Shall the Board of County Commissioners of Weld County, in concert with the county commissioners of other Colorado counties, pursue becoming the 51st state of the United States of America?”

More than 85 percent of residents believe 51st state initiative should be on ballot, Weld County Commissioner Sean Conway said during the session.
…
The voting session Monday included commissioners quoting the likes of Gandhi to Barack Obama.

“Yes we can,” Commissioner Bill Garcia said at the meeting.

So why do these counties want to secede? According to the 51st Initiative, the people “just want to be left alone to live our lives without heavy-handed restrictions from the state capitol.” “Heavy-handed restrictions” include legislation that strengthened gun laws and focused on renewable energy sources.

But supporters of the 51st Initiative know that achieving statehood is no simple task. The Times notes;

Even if the ballot measures pass, the Colorado state legislature would be required to refer a request for a new state to Congress.

“Again, folks say this can never happen. However, we are starting to hear from disenfranchised groups all over the country,” said a post on the group’s website, The 51st State Initiative. “We are truly a divided nation. It is possible, if not likely, that we may not be the only group requesting from Congress the formation of a new state.”

Yes, 51st Initiative, that’s us!