Video

In this video, Carla Gericke testifies in support of HB 1130 to create a study commission to explore whether NH should secede from the Union. Supporters and opponents of independence, rightfully, have questions! Let’s get the conversation started!

HB 1130: STUDY COMMISSION

Honorable Chair and Committee Members, 

Thank you for your time today. My name is Carla Gericke. I am the chairwoman and president emeritus of the Free State Project, a movement that is concentrating tens of thousands of liberty lovers in the state of New Hampshire. I am a naturalized citizen, originally from South Africa, and an author, activist, and attorney. 

I was the Republican nominee for NH Senate in District 20, and received 46% of the vote in 2020, and in 2022 I ran for NH state house in Ward 11 in Manchester, and lost by about 200 votes.  I am a proud Granite Stater because more than 15 years ago, I consciously picked NH as my forever home because of the “Live Free or Die” ethos of our great state.

I am here to testify IN SUPPORT OF HB1130. 

Last year, pro-independence supporters caught a lot of flack… we heard your feedback and drafted HB1130 in order to try to address concerns expressed by the legislature.

It is fair to say, we don’t have all the answers yet. But we should start having the conversations. It’s worth letting our imaginations soar… 

Let’s say,  

As an independent nation state, NH will be prosperous and peaceful, along the lines of small, successful countries like Lichtenstein, Luxembourg, or Switzerland. We would have four times the size of Iceland’s population. We would easily be able to work with our neighbors to trade, much like the countries do in the Schengen Area in Europe. Many American retirees already receive their social security pensions in foreign countries like Mexico. 

A study committee would create a SAFE SPACE to explore the ideas of NH sovereignty. Could we run on nuclear and export energy? Could we have competing currencies? Could we become the crypto capitol of the world? Could we be the Switzerland of the North? The only thing stopping us from becoming even more awesome is the federal government destroying our wealth.

This study committee would be a good compromise between the two positions. I know you all want the idea of peaceful secession to go away, but here’s the reality. It isn’t going to, and the urgency is going to become more and more pronounced. 

Why? Because $40 TRILLION DOLLARS in debt is NOT sustainable. The federal government’s hamfisted response to Covid showed us all, they have NO RESPECT for you as an individual or as an American, and definitely not as a Granite Stater–to them, we are the equivalent of District 12 in the Hunger Games. They claimed they owned your body and could force you to do things against your will.

I say NO. I say reclaim YOUR RIGHT OF CONSCIENCE, and support this bill so that we are not caught flatfooted or rushing around in a mad panic when the time comes. 

Let us PLAN. Let us have hard discussions now. Let us start to grapple with the very real risks for what a future yoked to the federal government looks like: more harm, more poverty, more decline in our standards of living. 

We can do better. 

We demand better. 

We know there are better options. 

It starts with an appetite for change. 

It starts here today. 

It starts with you.

It starts with the bravery to do the right thing for Granite Staters and start the conversation. I implore you to support HB 1130. My great-grandmother was imprisoned in a British concentration camp during the Anglo-Boer War in South Africa, where 25% of Boer women and children died. She always talked about the 5 Ps: Proper preparation prevents poor performance. Let’s prepare properly for our futures together, please.  

I’d be happy to answer any questions.

NH is considering a Constitutional amendment, CACR 20, to peaceably secede from the US if the national debt reaches 40 trillion dollars. This is my testimony in favor of the bill on January 12, 2024 before NH’s State-Federal Relations and Veterans Affairs Committee.

My testimony for CACR 20: Secede if national debt exceeds $40 trillion

Honorable Chair and Committee Members, 

Thank you for your time today. My name is Carla Gericke. I am the chairwoman and president emeritus of the Free State Project, a movement that is concentrating tens of thousands of liberty lovers in the state of New Hampshire. I am a naturalized US citizen, originally from South Africa, and I am an author, activist, and attorney. 

I was the Republican nominee for NH Senate in District 20, and received 46% of the vote in 2020, and in 2022 I ran for NH state house in Ward 11 in Manchester, and lost by about 200 votes.  I am a proud Granite Stater because more than 15 years ago, I consciously picked NH as my forever home because of the “Live Free or Die” ethos of our great state.

I am testifying today in SUPPORT of CACR 20, which is similar to last session’s CACR 32, the original independence bill put forth, except, this time, the sponsors added a qualifying event, a trigger, stating that if the Federal Government’s debt reaches 40 TRILLION DOLLARS, NH can proceed to PEACEFULLY secede.

Remember, the decision SHOULD AND WILL ALWAYS REMAIN IN THE HANDS OF ORDINARY GRANITE STATERS. 

FORTY TRILLION DOLLARS.
Let’s stand still with that insurmountable and almost unfathomable number for a second. 

FORTY TRILLION DOLLARS. 

Million seconds = 11.5 DAYS
Billion seconds = 32 YEARS
Trillion seconds = 31,000 YEARS

The federal government has failed us. 

It no longer follows the Constitution. 

Ushers in Undeclared, unconstitutional wars. 

Ushers in inflation, devaluing our money by almost 100%. If you feel like you are getting poorer, you are. If you feel like you can’t get ahead, you can’t, and this is SQUARELY the fault of the federal government’s monetary policy. 

Look at the Coivdmania response. The farther the center of control is from the people, the worse it is for people. A smaller, more responsive government accountable to Granite Staters is what CACR20 will give us. 

Granite Staters are being abused by DC. What do we advise victims to do when they are being abused? 

TO LEAVE.

Last time I was here on this issue, I spoke about a NATIONAL DIVORCE. Since then, this issue has started trending.

But more troubling, you are starting to see the idea of CIVIL WAR trending too. This is a problem. 

We who support NATIONAL DIVORCE DO NOT SUPPORT VIOLENCE. In fact, we are here today, and will continue to work on this issue because 

VIOLENCE is the tool of authoritarians, tyrants, and control freaks. In other words, it is the tool of the federal government and bad people who support killing people they disagree with.

Instead of telling us you will punch us in the face or lock us in the basement if we try to leave, let’s start having open and honest discussions about what needs to take place. 

We have the right to ask for a DIVORCE. This is all today’s proposed amendment is: an opportunity–a DEMOCRATIC OPPORTUNITY–for Granite Staters to decide whether our relationship with the federal government is worth salvaging.

I say it is NOT, and everyone should know, we would ALL be better off if we went our separate ways. 

What are we taught about abusers? 

They will tell you, you can never leave. 

They will tell you they will change. 

They will tell you it’s your fault.

We all know the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again. It is insane to place your trust in a government who is creating this much debt. Imagine if you ran your household like this? 

As an elected official, it is YOUR duty to at least create an OPPORTUNITY for Granite Staters to DECIDE our own destinies.

We have a right to decide, as enshrined in the New Hampshire Constitution, whether to stay with this sinking ship, or chart our own, new, better and brighter future. 

No future challenge related to independence is insurmountable: Where there is a will, there is a way.

Today, your ONLY duty is to democracy, which every single one of you claims to support. YOU need to vote in favor of this OPPORTUNITY because it is NOT up to you. It is up to individual Granite Staters.

We are called the live free or die state. When we become independent, we will also be the Live Free and THRIVE state. Afford us the opportunity to TRY. Thank you for your time, I’d be happy to answer questions.