While folks across the internet put forward their best arguments for selling Montana to Canada to settle America's debt, state lawmakers decided to join the debate...because why not.
More than 13,000 people have signed on to a Change.org petition to sell Montana to our neighbors in the North for $1 trillion to try and eliminate the national debt.
Their reasoning?
"We have too much debt and Montana is useless. Just tell them it has beavers or something," the petition explains.
An editorial in the Great Falls Tribune took note and humorously critiqued the plan. They brought forward important questions like: Can they take Yellowstone with them? Does Canada have an extra trillion? And why not just sell Alaska?
State lawmakers in Montana even debated the topic this week.
Rep. Forest Mandeville, chair of the state's House Administration Committee, came up with the idea for a humorous response to the petition through a formal House resolution opposing the plan, according to USA TODAY.
There was even some friendly back-and-forth debate with Rep. Jessica Karjala, asking about "those who would like more maple syrup, better tea and free health care?"
The committee initially voted to authorize a draft of the resolution, but Mandeville told USA TODAY that the lawmakers later reconsidered the request and it was voted down.
Despite his plans falling apart, Mandeville didn't seem too broken up about it. He told USA TODAY that he doesn't think anyone "really believes there is a snowball's chance in Florida that the U.S. will sell Montana to Canada."
