Texas secessionists kick off statewide speaking tour to campaign for a break from the Union

If Texas ever regained its independence, see what it would look like. If Texas ever regained its independence, see what it would look like. Photo: Nathan Hunsinger, Associated Press Photo: Nathan Hunsinger, Associated Press Image 1 of / 69 Caption Close Texas secessionists kick off statewide speaking tour to campaign for a break from the Union 1 / 69 Back to Gallery

A group of Texas secessionists is hitting the road to bring their message of a Lone Star nation to more than 20 cities across the state.

Today, the Texas Nationalist Movement is kicking off their "Take Texas Back Tour," with speaking dates booked at hotels and other venues throughout North, East and Central Texas. The group says it aims to collect signatures to get Texas secession on the 2016 ballot. That isn't actually possible—only the legislature can get referendums on the ballot in Texas—but the separatists hope to court volunteers and supporters across the state.

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Sunday, the Movement created a collection of Facebook events for each of their bookings. So far the highest number of confirmed guests will turn up this evening in Tyler—88 people—and on Wednesday in Fort Worth—62 people. Most of the seminars are booked at hotels, and other cities including Marshall, New Braunfels, Austin, Corpus Christi, Conroe and Dallas.

The TNM could not be reached for comment Monday. A secretary said all officials were out on the tour. In a statement on the group's website, president Daniel Miller said, "This tour is our way of connecting with the thousands of Texans who have pledged their support to our cause and makes a statement about the direction of the Texas Nationalist Movement. The relentless march to identify, communicate with and organize TNM supporters who are seeking to work for the independence of Texas is paramount at this point."

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Since the reelection of President Barack Obama in 2012, the movement has repeatedly vowed to get secession on a statewide November ballot. But according to Mark Jones, chair of the political science department at Rice University, they can't do it with a petition.

"Gathering signatures could be a good public relations tool but from a constitutional legal perspective it's irrelevant," he said. "There's no way for individual citizens to place any item on the statewide ballot."

Only the Legislature can put an item on the ballot. And there are steps to take before a statewide vote on leaving the union. A legislator would have to introduce a resolution to convene a constitutional convention at which to discuss secession, and the state House and Senate would have to approve the resolution with a two-thirds majority. Not likely, Jones said.

But, since the legislature won't meet again until January 2017, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott would have to call a special session to discuss secession. Virtually unthinkable, Jones said.

Furthermore, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1869 that states have no right to secede.

"The federal government would certainly view any attempt at secession as something unconstitutional and would move to block it," Jones said.

However, that hasn't stopped Texans from mulling the notion. Even then-Gov. Rick Perry suggested Texas would leave the Union while addressing a 2009 Tea Party rally in Austin.

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In January 2013, shortly after the beginning of Obama's second term, more than 100,000 people signed a petition asking for the president to kindly excuse Texas from the union of states. In September 2014, Reuters polled about 9,000 Americans on secession, and surprisingly found about a quarter of them would support their state seceding. The Southwest—Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Arizona—sported the highest approval rating for secession: 34 percent.

When KSAT TV in San Antonio reported on the TNM's push in 2013, they conducted a viewer poll, asking if Texas should have the right to secede. Of about 600 respondents, 75 percent answered "yes."

The TNM made headlines recently when Politico reported one of its members had been consorting with Russian officials at a St. Petersburg conference, calling himself the foreign minister of Texas. A rebel government in Ukraine also told international media they were friends with the Texas secessionists, and even invited the Lone Star representatives to a "summit of unrecognized states" (which has been indefinitely postponed due to war, a spokesman for the Ukrainian rebels told the Chronicle).