(Molly Bruns, Headline USA) The Texas GOP is pushing for a referendum to decide whether the state should secede from the union in 2023, among other bold proposals in its new platform that address everything from homosexuality to abortion and the illegitimacy of President Joe Biden’s election.
The secessionist proposal was recently adopted in the state’s GOP party platform after a state convention in Houston, according to Newsweek.
The platform, titled “State Sovereignty,” states “Pursuant to Article 1, Section 1, of the Texas Constitution, the federal government has impaired our right of local self-government. Therefore, federally mandated legislation that infringes upon the 10th Amendment rights of Texas should be ignored, opposed, refused, and nullified.”
“Texas retains the right to secede from the United States, and the Texas Legislature should be called upon to pass a referendum consistent thereto.”
The consideration of a complete ban on abortion was also added to the platform, which described homosexuality as “an abnormal lifestyle choice” and informed that the party opposed “all efforts to validate transgender identity,” Newsweek reported. The state GOP also called for full repeal of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
After the announcement of these controversial additions to their platform, the website of the Texas GOP crashed due to high traffic.
The party’s state convention was rife with controversy all around. Conservatives confronted Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, about sending aide to Ukraine and helping to establish red flag laws, and a group of gay activists was denied space for their tent on the premises.
Among the hoopla, the movement to secede is almost certain to face obstacles, Newsweek reported.
State representatives are citing Texas’ history as precedence to attempt to secede from the U.S., but the Constitution does not make a provision for states to secede. The Supreme Court previously ruled in Texas v. White that states cannot unilaterally leave the Union.
Secessionist efforts persist, however, and usually become stronger when a Democrat is in office.
The website of the Texas Nationalist Movement says they have the support of almost half a million Texans. The population of Texas is nearly 30 million people.
Last year, a bill was introduced Rep. Kyle Bidermann, R-Texas, calling for “Texit.”
The bill failed and was rebuked by other GOP lawmakers, with some calling it a “disgrace” and the “very definition of seditious.”
