Puerto Rico Says 'Si' To Statehood

Yesterday Puerto Rican voters took a major step toward the island becoming the 51st state.

In Sunday's non binding referendum that drew 23% of the island's registered voters to participate in it, statehood received over 500,000 votes, with free association/independence drawing over 7800 votes and 6800 votes for the current status as a territory

Gov. Richard Rossello (NPP) in the wake of the vote told supporters that he would create a commission to select two senators and five congress members that would head to Washington DC and demand statehood from the US Congress.

Will Puerto Rico become the 51st state?  Congress would have to approve the change in status from a commonwealth to statehood and the President would have to sign it, but good luck getting the Republican controlled Congress to agree to do so.  The 3.4 million peeps on that Caribbean isle tend to vote for Democrats, and the GOP is going to have enough problems trying to hold on to power in 2018 and 2020.

Trump has stated he's in favor of it, but you can never believe anything Dear Cheeto Leader says
But you never know.

But like the residents of Washington DC, Puerto Rico has voted to say si to starting the process toward statehood.   It's just will it happen in our lifetimes?

Baja Arizona-The Quest Continues

TransGriot readers, time to get your learn on.  

:Let's review what Article IV, section 3 of the United States Constitution says about the formation of new states from currently existing ones. 

New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union; but no new States shall be formed or erected within the Jurisdiction of any other State; nor any State be formed by the Junction of two or more States, or parts of States, without the Consent of the Legislatures of the States concerned as well as of the Congress.

If the rest of the Republican dominated state of Arizona and their supporters thought the residents of Pima County were sore losers kidding about forming Baja Arizona because they are tired of being dominated by Maricopa County and the conservamadness emanating from the state capitol building in Phoenix, the folks in Tucson and the rest of Pima County ain't laughing.  

Proposed Baja Arizona Initiative Language 

WHEREAS, the citizens of Pima County desire to separate from the current State of Arizona in order to form a new state within the Union of the United States of America, as prescribed by Article IV, Section 3 of the United States Constitution; and

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the citizens of Pima County hereby petition the Arizona State Legislature to enact legislation permitting Pima County to separate from Arizona and seek statehood from the United States Congress, as prescribed by Article IV, Section 3 of the United States Constitution.

Yep, they're going there.   The Start our State group launched a petition drive last month with the goal of collecting 47,339 valid signatures by July 2012 in order to put a resolution on the November 2012 ballot.   


The initiative if passed wouldn't immediately create a new state.  It simply asks the Arizona Legislature to give Pima County permission to request that Congress consider statehood under the provisions of Article IV, Section 3 of the Constitution to form what people are calling Baja Arizona.

of course, the Start Our State folks are recoiling from the 'secessionist' label they are being tagged with by right wingers while pointing out the true secessionists are in the state capital of Phoenix and Maricopa County.

"Secessionists want to leave the United States of America," said attorney Peter Hormel, one of the organizers of the drive. "During the Civil War—those were secessionists." "We view ourselves as good American citizens," he said at a SOS meeting last month "What they're doing in Phoenix (in the Legislature), with the states rights moves, the nullification of federal laws—that's secession. We want to remain totally inside the United States."

Meanwhile the work continues.  A rally will be held on Friday in Tucson for supporters of the idea of statehood for Pima County and hopefully all of Southern Arizona as the rest of the country watches with interest to see if it will happen.