California’s erstwhile secession movement has been inspired by Catalonia’s fight for independence, believing that California’s secession will be even easier.

The movement has splintered in recent months—known as CalExit and Yes, California alternatively—but the lead campaign is now headed up by the California Freedom Coalition, who believe there are lessons to be learned from Catalonia’s experience.

But the big difference, according to the Sacramento Bee;

[t]hey believe California has more legal tools at its disposal, creating an easier path to secession – if that’s what Californians decide they want. “There are definitely similarities in the fiscal situation – we both give more than we get back,” said Dave Marin, director of research and policy for the California Freedom Coalition. “But there’s more flexibility in the U.S. Constitution for secession than there is in the Spanish one. California has more tools available to it.” The Catalan Parliament, together with President of Catalonia Carles Puigdemont, approved in September a binding referendum to make Catalonia an “independent and sovereign state.” Spain’s constitutional court suspended the process, but Catalan authorities continued with the vote on Oct. 1, prompting violence between voters and Spanish security forces tasked with shutting it down. After a majority who voted in the referendum cast ballots for independence, Puigdemont issued a symbolic declaration of independence from Spain on Tuesday, but immediately suspended it to ease negotiations with the Madrid government…

Even though Catalonia succeeded in its attempt to vote for secession, it now must decide if it’s willing to risk the wrath of a spurned powerful centralized government crackdown. Things could get even more violent—and not surprisingly: all break-ups are painful, but try to “break up” with a huge, all-powerful government that can crush the life out of you by sending in its army.

Actions like what Catalonia did this week are almost always precursors to armed confrontation and civil war.

Commentator John Stossel exposes what’s behind question facing secessionists worldwide in an opinion piece for Fox News:

Recently, people in Catalonia voted to break away from Spain — not to declare war on Spain or refuse to trade with Spain, just to control their own affairs. The Spanish government said they must not even vote. They sent police to shut down polling places and beat protestors into staying off the streets. Governments never want to give up power. … The powerful prefer one big central government. Some want the whole world to answer to one government. … But central authorities aren’t the best way to solve our problems. Competition is. … As California tortures businesses, Californians move to Arizona and Texas. The more governments from which you can choose, the easier it is to benefit from competition between them. All Americans, however, must obey rules set by Washington, D.C. But what if most people in a state reject those rules and demand the right to govern themselves? There have been several secession movements in California — a plan to break California up into smaller states, a push to make Northern California a breakaway state called Jefferson, and now the “Yes California” movement that wants to make California a separate country. Calexit’s proponents say Californians shouldn’t have to answer to that evil President Trump. If Calexit ever happened, I suppose conservative parts of the state would vote to separate from the leftists who dominate Sacramento. Maybe we’d end up with three countries where there used to be one.

Secessionists in California aren’t planning to give up their cause anytime soon, even though polls show their cause is popular with only a third of voters–even after Trump was elected.

“We’re not strictly saying secession right now,” Marin told the Bee. “But if that number gets into the high 40s or 50s, it makes sense to consider. And then we have a few more tools to pursue it than Catalonia.”

Tim Donnelly is a former California State Assemblyman and Author, currently on a book tour for his new book: Patriot Not Politician: Win or Go Homeless. He also ran for governor in 2014.

FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/tim.donnelly.12/

Twitter: @PatriotNotPol