The Free State Wyoming logo
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."
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.
Royce began research in 1997 on his novel
Molôn Labé!—which depicts freedom lovers
moving to Wyoming and taking political power by use of the ballot
box—several years prior to the
Free
State Project .
He founded the FSW shortly after 1 October 2003 when the
members of the FSP selected New Hampshire
as the focus of their efforts. Wyoming
placed second in the deciding vote garnering 498 votes, 251 votes
short of New Hampshire's 749 votes.
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.
Goals
The FSW does not advocate a specific list of political goals,
however a possible outline is found in the novel
Molôn Labé! by Boston T. Party. Aside from
information in the Statement of Intent, the goals of the FSW may be
stated broadly as:
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 2005
the entire state was opened for membership purposes in FSW, these
counties remain a focus of the group.
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."
While early on in the group's history it required people to print
out, sign, and mail the statement of intent,along with $25, now one
must simply post ten times on their forum, and then typing out the
statement of intent and posting it on the forum.
Members and associates who joined under the old mail-in method are
now known as founding members and founding associates on the
forum.
See also
External links
References
- Party, Boston T. (1997-2004), Molon Labe!. Ignacio,
Colorado: Javelin Press. ISBN 1-888766-07-7
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