OKLAHOMA – A state lawmaker wants to make it okay for Oklahoma to secede from the United States.
Secession is not a foreign idea.
“It’s an argument that’s been made throughout our entire history by millions of people over the years, and millions of people still believe in it,” said OCU Law Professor Andrew Spiropoulous.
This session, Senator Joseph Silk is proposing to make a change to Section I-1 of Oklahoma’s constitution.
Currently, it reads:
“The State of Oklahoma is an inseparable part of the Federal Union, and the Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the land.”
Silk wants to remove the word “inseparable,” because he said it does not line up with the foundation of our country.
“Clearly, our founding fathers believed that no people or group of people should be inseparably bound politically to another,” Silk said.
He said the goal of his bill is not to try and secede.
“I don’t think Oklahoma needs to secede. I don’t think anyone needs to secede right now. However, you know, 30-40 years from now whenever, you know, my kids are having families what if the United States comes and turns into a, you know, communist country?” Silk asked.
Spiropoulous thinks the bill is a waste of time.
“The federal constitution says ‘We the people’ of the United States of America, and it’s the people who made the Union, and it’s the people who say that it’s permanent and that can’t be changed by an individual state,” Spiropoulous said.
It is a controversial issue that has Oklahomans thinking.
“I don’t know that secession from the United States, that I would personally be in agreement with,” said Dillon Pierce.
“I think the constitution should allow for it in the future, that the states should have the power to secede or do whatever necessary to keep their people safe,” said Rachel Balocca.
If the measure is passed, Oklahomans will get to vote on it.
