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WESTMINSTER, Md. (WJZ) — A tale of two Marylands: Western Maryland and
the rest of the state. Fed up with high taxes and gun control, some
people want to break away and go it alone.
Mary Bubala explains why they’re
trying
to form their own state.
“If
your vote doesn’t count, it’s the same as having no vote. We’re not
free,” Strzelczyk said. “We’re doing exactly what they did in 1776. I
just simply want to live as a free human being with limited government
intrusion in my life and that’s really why I do this.”
There’s a storm brewing over the beautiful
mountains and
valleys of Western Maryland. More and more people in those five
counties say Governor Martin O’Malley is out of touch and they want to
break away from the rest of the state.
“I can’t imagine
Maryland
without Western Maryland,” said Governor Martin O’Malley.
“Do you actually care
about
your citizens?” questioned Rob Parr.
“I certainly don’t
live in
a bubble and I go around the state all the time,” O’Malley said.
“Why don’t you want to
listen
to people that you don’t agree with?” said Suzanne Olden.
“I spend my whole day
listening,” O’Malley said.
Scott Strzelczyk, Suzanne Olden and Rob Parr are
part of
a growing group that wants to rip Maryland in two, creating the
nation’s 51st state. They met recently at O’Lordan’s Irish Pub in
Westminster to tell WJZ they’re fed up with politics
as usual in Annapolis.
“If your vote doesn’t count, it’s the same as
having no
vote. We’re not free,” Strzelczyk said. “We’re doing exactly what they
did in 1776. I just simply want to live as a free human being with
limited government intrusion in my life and that’s really why I do
this.”
They claim Maryland’s lawmakers don’t listen to
their
concerns so they want to form a state more in sync with their beliefs.
“I’ve gone down to Annapolis. I’ve complained;
I’ve been
in rallies,” said Parr. “It all falls on deaf ears.”
“The attitude is sit down, shut up, we don’t care
what
you think,” said Olden.
“We are enslaved to this government in Maryland
that we
want nothing to do with. All we simply want to do is peacefully leave,”
Strzelczyk said.
“It’s a free country. People are allowed to express
those opinions but we’re one Maryland and we’re stronger together,”
O’Malley said.
Maryland isn’t the only state where frustrated
citizens
want to break away. It’s happening in Colorado, California, Arizona and
Michigan.
“Republican counties are becoming more
emphatically
Republican; Democratic counties are becoming more emphatically
Democratic, which means the divisions between Republican and Democratic
counties are becoming all the more sharp,” said Johns Hopkins
University professor Matthew Crenson.
Now the movement here is picking up steam. More
than
8,000 people like the Facebook page for the Western Maryland Initiative
and more than a thousand have signed petitions–but could they really
form a new state?
“This is a peaceful way to resolve irreconcilable
differences,” Strzelczyk said. “Lots of people out there feel like
there is no recourse, there is no hope.”
But they know their chances of success are slim to
none.
“Maryland’s my home. I was born here. It’s my
home,”
Olden said.
“If we leave and other people come in our place,
buy our
homes or whatever the case, these problems still exist,” Strzelczyk
said.
“A diversity of perspectives and a diversity of
people.
That’s what makes us one Maryland,” O’Malley said.
“Why would anyone want to deny us our right of
self-determination when that’s the basis of how all our governments are
formed in this country? Why would anyone want to deny us that?”
Strzelczyk said.
The Western Maryland Initiative is still working
on a
name for its proposed state. So far, the choices include Liberty,
Antietam and Augusta.
CBS