Brownback says Kansas will always be part of United States

Gov. Sam Brownback says Kansas is staying put.

“Kansas is and will always remain a state in the United States of America,” Brownback said.

As of this afternoon, more than 6,800 people had signed a petition urging that the state of Kansas withdraw from the United States and create its own government.

The online secession petitions from all 50 states were prompted by the re-election of President Barack Obama. The petitions appear on a White House website called “We the People,” which the administration uses to hear from people on what policies they would like to see.

If a petition gets 25,000 signatures within a month the White House staff will review the issue. Legally, the U.S. Constitution doesn’t allow states to secede.

Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley, D-Topeka, joked that maybe the petition started after Brownback refused to join the federal government to put together a health insurance exchange under the Affordable Care Act.

House Minority Leader Paul Davis, D-Lawrence, said he didn’t think much of the petitions. “I think we settled this issue back in the early 1860s. I don’t think anyone in their right mind wants to have a secession debate,” Davis said.