Free State Wyoming
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Free State Wyoming (FSW) is a political migration project whose goal is to bring people of "demonstrably ethical character" to the state of Wyoming in the western United States to encourage "political liberty, free trade and voluntary cooperation."
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[edit] History
The idea for Free State Wyoming was conceived by Kenneth W. Royce (aka Boston T. Party). He remains the prominent figure in the promotion and organization of the FSW, while explicitly avoiding any "cult of personality" issues. "I am not a leader, because I do not want followers," Royce explained. The FSW is a broad umbrella for many flavors of people, though there is an overt emphasis on supporting an active gun culture.
Although Royce began research in 1997 on a free state movement for his novel Molon Labe! several years prior to the Free State Project (FSP), he founded the FSW shortly after 1 October 2003 when the members of the FSP selected New Hampshire as the focus of their efforts by just 251 votes.[1] Wyoming placed second in the vote, and the western state choices received more first-preference votes than eastern ones. Some supporters of Wyoming in that vote then chose to support the FSW as the free state alternative in the western United States.
In 2005, the FSW minted a unique one-ounce .999 silver commemorative coin. The 1,000 coin mint run of 2005 sold out by October 2006.
The FSW is active through the FSW Forum as well as through Jamborees and meetings within Wyoming.
[edit] Goals
The FSW does not advocate a specific list of political goals, however a possible outline is found in the novel Molon Labe! by Boston T. Party. Aside from information in the Statement of Intent, the goals of the FSW may be stated broadly as:
- Constitutional restoration and strict Bill of Rights enforcement
- personal liberty within capitalism
- property rights
- small government
The FSW seeks to accomplish these goals by involvement in local and state politics and electing favored candidates to political office; but more importantly, by attempting to live as free individuals would. The FSW has chosen to focus initially on the Wyoming counties of Crook (primarily), Weston and Hot Springs.
Each of these counties was selected for reasons including its small population, current political environment, perceived support for the FSW's goals and feasibility of migration. While in June of 2005 the entire state was opened for membership purposes in FSW, these counties remain a focus of the group.
[edit] Statement of Intent
The Statement of Intent is a statement which one must sign and submit in order to officially join the Free State Wyoming. The Statement of Intent reads as follows :
- "I solemnly pledge that I am able and willing to join the Free State Wyoming and its effort to populate Wyoming with individuals of demonstrably ethical character who — forsaking fraud, theft and aggression — desire to peaceably co-exist as reasonable neighbors for the goals of political liberty, free trade, and voluntary cooperation.
- By hereby joining the Free State Wyoming, I solemnly pledge my best effort to legally establish bona fide voting Wyoming residency (preferably in Crook, Weston, or Hot Springs county) no later than seven years from today."
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- Party, Boston T. (1997-2004), Molon Labe!. Ignacio, Colorado: Javelin Press. ISBN 1-888766-07-7
