ABC News — October 7, 2013

Eleven rural Colorado counties are threatening to secede and have put a 51st state initiative on their November 5 ballots, claiming that the government has no respect for their rural lifestyles.

“It really started with the last legislative session being the straw that broke the camel’s back between the rural and urban divide,” 51st State Initiative leader Jeffrey Hare told ABCNews.com.

“The two things that stood out were the gun control legislation and the alternative energy mandate that was forced upon the rural parts of the state,” he said.

Hare, 44, is the father of three daughters and works in software security. He lives in Greeley, Colo., and said he got involved with the initiative in an effort to give his daughters a better future.

He believes that rural communities have “lost their voices” to urban growth.

“It stems back to years and years…