Citizens Signing Petition For Georgia To Secede From Union

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) - Georgia is trying to secede from the United States. It's one of forty states using a website sponsored by the white house that gives citizens the chance to petition the government.

According to the White House's "We the People" website, it "provides you with a new way to create and join petitions encouraging the federal government to take action on a range of issues."

Action like seceding from the United States. Georgia is one of forty states starting an online petition to leave the US and create its own new government.

"I think this is a a cry for people who are feeling sort of disenfranchised or not heard in the context of this election coming out and saying, 'Hey listen to our concerns,'" Mercer University law professor David Oedel said.

Oedel says the United States has a long history with secession and its even worked on an international scale. He thinks these petitions are just political talk.

"It's not an unreasonable thing to imagine, in other settings, but the special setting of the United States, secession is very, very unlikely to occur," he said.

The community has mixed feelings about the petition. Many say it is racially based and the people signing it are upset that President Obama was reelected. Others say the president should consider it.

"I think its wrong and its ludicrous. I think he [President Obama] should just overlook that as stupidity and ignorance because that's exactly what it is," Timothy Holt Sr. said.

"He should think on it. Might even pray about it," Betty Lanier said.

"I don't think they should take our white house away," Annie Beavers said.

Each online petition has 30 days to get 25-thousand signatures and then the Obama administration will review it and respond.

As of Tuesday evening, Georgia's petition has 24,579 signatures.