Texas Republican Introduces Bill Calling for Secession Referendum - Rolling Stone
Category: News & Politics
Via: evilgenius • last year • 43 commentsBy: Nikki McCann Ramirez (Rolling Stone)
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
By Nikki McCann Ramirez
View all posts by Nikki McCann Ramirez March 6, 2023 
The U.S. and Texas state flags fly over the state Capitol building on July 12, 2021 in Austin, Texas.
Texas state Rep. Bryan Slaton has introduced a bill that would place a referendum for Texas' secession from the United States on the 2024 ballot. H.B. 3596 would allow Texans to vote on "whether or not the State should investigate the possibility of Texas independence, and present potential plans to the Legislature."
In a statement released on Twitter, Slaton wrote that "after decades of continuous abuse of our rights and liberties by the federal government, it is time to let the people of Texas make their voices heard."
Today, I filed HB 3596, which is commonly known as the "Texas Independence Referendum Act," or TEXIT
If passed, it will place a referendum on the ballot during the next general election, allowing the people of Texas to vote on whether or not the State https://t.co/WWnGUi4btL… https://t.co/KyfozJMRc4pic.twitter.com/OJbrWySnWa
— Bryan Slaton (@BryanforHD2) March 6, 2023
If the referendum were to succeed, it would establish a committee tasked with investigating "the feasibility of independence from the Union and propose options and potential plans
for independence to the Texas Legislature." The state representative included a petition supporting the bill's passage in his announcement of the proposal.
Slaton has been at the center of various hardline conservative legislative proposals in Texas. He has introduced bills attempting to make abortion a criminal offense punishable by death, proposed rules to block Texas Democrats from holding committee chairmanships, floated tax benefits for heterosexual couples, and introduced measures to criminalize gender-affirming health care for minors.
Throughout its history as an independent republic, then annexed territory-turned-state, calls for Texas' independence have remained constant. However, following the defeat of the confederacy in the Civil War, the 1869 Supreme Court case Texas v. White established that a state could not unilaterally secede from the nation. Despite the clear cut laws surrounding the territorial integrity of the United States, in 2022 the state's Republican convention called for a referendum similar to the one proposed by Slaton.
Slaton's suggestion of a "Texit" referendum comes on the heels of U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's call for a "national divorce." The Georgia representative began pushing for an official split between red states and blue states in February. The nonsensical proposal essentially calls for one-party rule in every state, while maintaining a skeletal federal government to enforce borders and military defense. Greene went so far as to propose that Democrats who moved to "red" states be barred from voting for five years.
While Greene's fantasy misunderstands virtually every aspect of how representative government operates — particularly that most states are not wholly conservative or wholly liberal — the GOP's growing interest in cleaving the country apart speaks to how far they're willing to go to impose their ideology, or, as Greene put it recently, to create "safe spaces" for conservatives.
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Another year and another call by someone in Texas politics that calls for secession. It's not like this will ever happen, but it does rile up the base and raise money from gullible marks. I mean they've been talking about it since the South lost the last civil war, but I don't think they have a clue how badly this would go for them if the US actually allowed them go...
If there ever was secession, some of these states would make life so miserable for minorities that they would leave and the state would achieved the desired "purity', both demographically and ideologically.
Wow....quite a speculative conspiracy theory you've got there!
Meh, they have a GDP higher than Canada, Australia, Russia, etc as of 2017.
They would be fine.
I'm not so sure they would be. It wasn't all fun and roses for Brexit and they already were an independent country.
Oh I agree it would be very challenging. Much more so than the dimbulb politicians who propose it understand but Texas has everything it needs to be independent if they wanted.
Good GDP, diverse and top business rating, deep water ports, etc, etc.
... dipshit fascist majorlty running the gov't ...
All of that would have to be renegotiated with the rest of the world. Perhaps they would get lucky and Texas and the US would trade like Ireland and N Ireland, but it's not a given. If things go bad all things made in Asia would have to go around through Panama and that adds costs. Britain lost businesses at the beginning of Brexit and since many small businesses have gone bust. I was there last spring and people were not happy with the steep rise in prices caused by Brexit and COVID.
You clearly wouldn’t know what a real fascist is under the best of circumstances.
100% correct. Some actually want a "do-over" / "can we come back" vote.
You understand the situation exactly.
It's getting more and more whacky out there in politics and either civil war breaks out OR someone finally tells the populists to sit down and shut up. I'm fairly confident it'll be the latter, buy wouldn't want to put money on it today.
Again, you understand the situation exactly.
apparently not enough texas confederates ended up taking dirt naps 160+ years ago...
Sooo....
...does anyone think trmp's SCOTUS will hear another argument about Texas withdrawing from the Union?
For example?
Geezus, what a lunatic.
Yeah, and I think the secessionist nutbags might find that even Texas is not as conservative as they think. I don’t think the resolution will pass. But even if it did, what are these people going to do about Austin? Houston? San Antonio? El Paso? Laredo? Dallas?
Every one of those cities now leans Democrat, and this is where the bulk of Texans live.
lunacy sells these days, I guess.
I don't think it will pass either, but it might win him re-election.
Texas is far less conservative than many other "red" states.
That said, it's not uncommon for us to have a secession bill brought to the state legislature. It's kind of our version of "Medicare for all"... a moronic thing that will never pass, would be a calamitous disaster, and is only ever backed by raving extremists, but they come out faithfully every so often to push it again. Everybody rolls their eyes and then goes back to reality.
“Texas is far less conservative than many other "red" states.”
Agreed.
Hell, boebert is my congressional representative. The crazy crosses all borders but infects everything in its spreading of fear, and counting on the collective ignorance in playing upon those fears.
Ooooh. My condolences.
I think you hit the nail there with the word "ignorance". It's interesting how there don't seem to be many left-wingers with math degrees and there don't seem to be many right-wingers with science degrees.
Some of the stuff that goes on Idaho these days makes Texas look downright leftist.
I had to vote you up on that one. You insulted both sides in one sentence. And it's funny
Come to Arkansas if you want to see right wing crazy
Thanks.
Meh. I think I'll pass.
It's kinda like going to Arkansas for really good TexMex. I've had really good TexMex in Arkansas, but it's everywhere here in Dallas and you don't have to drive 4 hours.
I have only one restaurant here that I like for Tex Mex and it's relatively new. All the rest are blah...no seasoning.
But you're right about good Tex Mex in Texas
We ate at Diablo's in Hot Springs last time we were there. I thought it was really good.
I'd be concerned about the full faith and credit of the Texan Peso/Dollar.
Bye...
Seems that Mr. Slaton is adept at introducing bills that will never pass.
Pro Life + Pro Capital Punishment = Texas GOP
How much do you want to bet that they don't even see the irony in their stance?
Do you find them equivalent?
Well what happens to all the military in Texas and those serving America in every state and around the world? Does Texas intend on recalling all active military members from their state to serve only Texas? After all the "support our troops" rhetoric they don't even remotely understand what secession would entail. Economically what is the comprehensive plan to divorce America? Will they all burn their American flags? Will they build the wall around the entire state so all commerce, travel and tourism would require a New Texas passport?
Why would they? Their southern border now has been allowed to be exploited. Same deal with Texas and the rest of the nation could be applied.