January 26, 2021
Today state representative Kyle Biedermann of Fredericksburg introduced a bill, HB 1359, calling for a statewide vote on the issue of Texas independence. “The Texas Independence Referendum Act”, as the bill is titled, calls for a state-sponsored initiative for Texans to cast their vote whether they approve or disapprove of Texas leaving the United States. It is not a military, confrontational style secession, but a British style “TEXIT” whereby Texas petitions the US for an amicable dissolution and negotiated separation treaty.
“Texas is seen as the bastion of freedom and a leader of free enterprise, which has built a robust economy, financial solvency and capacity for massive energy production worthy of the world stage,” he said. “These are all indications that the Republic of Texas would not just survive but thrive as an independent nation. Now is the time for Texas to lead.”
When politicians, political scientists, and legal scholars are asked about the legality of Texas secession, there is universal agreement that Texas cannot legally secede. According to these experts, the Supreme Court ajudicated the issue in Texas vs White. Chief Justice Salmon Tate stated the when Texas agreed to be annexed into the United States she agreed to a “perpetual, indissoluable union”.
Many Texans disagree with the normal legal sentiment. Texas nationalists use the constitution of Texas, the US consitution and Declaration of Independence, and other international precedents as indicators that self-determination is legal and required when a people feel oppressed under their current government and seek to form another government. The Texas constitution states:
All political power is inherent in the people, and all free governments are founded on their authority, and instituted for their benefit. The faith of the people of Texas stands pledged to the preservation of a republican form of government, and, subject to this limitation only, they have at all times the inalienable right to alter, reform or abolish their government in such manner as they may think expedient.
State Constitution of Texas. Sec. 2. INHERENT POLITICAL POWER; REPUBLICAN FORM OF GOVERNMENT.
Many Texans believe the current political climate in Washington DC is toxic and Texas suffers from the oppressive, dysfunctional federal system. They believe their representatives and the aggregate body of governance defined by Democrats and Rebublicans is no longer in the best interest of Texas.
Biedermann’s bill does not seek for Texas to re-declare its independence or break-off from the US in a Confederate style revolt. His bill would allow Texans to voice their opinion on independence through the ballot box and to enjoin the federal government in a legal, negotiated separation through a treaty whereby Texas is recognized as a free nation, unfettered from the US.
Thomas Hill