Texas Boys State votes in favor of secession



If it peeled off on its own, Texas would still dwarf a lot of other countries. Keep going for a look at the nations that can fit inside Texas. less Texas Boys State voted to have Texas leave the union in the first vote of its kind in the organization's history.

If it peeled off on its own, Texas would still dwarf a lot of other countries. Keep going for a ... more Texas Boys State voted to have Texas leave the union in the first vote of its kind in the organization's history. Photo: David Paul Morris Photo: David Paul Morris Image 1 of / 29 Caption Close Texas Boys State votes in favor of secession 1 / 29 Back to Gallery

AUSTIN -- Second time's the charm.

Texas Boys State, the famed American Legion program that started in 1935 to allow high school-aged boys to participate in a mock government, voted to have Texas leave the union in the first vote of its kind in the organization's history. A similar proposition narrowly failed last year.

The student legislators, who met at the Capitol in Austin this month, also created a new constitution and declaration of independence, according to a news release from the group.

"This is the first time in Texas Boys State history that the government body decided to secede from the United States," it read. "The gallery of each chamber were cheering and celebrating because they have now made history by becoming a nation."

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One attendant tweeted a video from the Senate floor after the secession bill passed.

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#TexasBoysState had seceded and has formed the Republic of Texas! pic.twitter.com/9E6G8TxFMw — JP ⚡️ (@K1ngJEP) June 15, 2017

Not unlike the real Texas House and Senate, the mock state legislators disagreed on the issue during their gathering last summer. Last June, the Boys State Senate approved a secession bill in a 33-10 vote, with two abstentions. The Boys State House, however, defeated the measure by four votes, 64-60, with eight abstentions.

They are not the only ones who have considered the idea.

Some delegates to the Republican Party of Texas convention last year tried unsuccessfully to add a provision to the state party's platform to allow for a statewide vote on secession. The move made national headlines and sparked fierce debate among attendees, particularly veterans who said they served the United States, not any single state.

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While it may excite among some right-wing activists in Texas, secession in practical terms is a legal impossibility. In 1869, the U.S. Supreme Court in a case coming from Texas ruled that no state can unilaterally depart the Union, no matter if a state legislature votes to leave. The Civil War ultimately settled that question, historians and jurists largely agree.

"I cannot imagine that such a question could ever reach the Supreme Court," former Justice Antonin Scalia wrote in 2006 when asked about a Maine secession proposal. "To begin with, the answer is clear. If there was any constitutional issue resolved by the Civil War, it is that there is no right to secede."