Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, makes clear his support for the idea of state secession in a statement appearing on his
House website in which he calls the idea a "deeply American principle."
His missive comes as numerous states, most notably Texas, have gathered petitions for secession since the re-election of President Barack Obama.
“Is all the recent talk of secession mere sour grapes over the election, or perhaps something deeper?” Paul writes. “While I wouldn't hold my breath on Texas actually seceding, I believe these petitions raise a lot of worthwhile questions about the nature of our union.”
Self-governance and voluntary association represent the foundation of our nation, he says. Thomas Jefferson supported secession as a last resort.
The Declaration of Independence makes reference to the idea. “Secession is a deeply American principle,” Paul says. “This country was born through secession. Some felt it was treasonous to secede from England, but those ‘traitors’ became our country's greatest patriots.”
People are entitled to a federal government that doesn’t claw away at their freedom, he says.
“If the possibility of secession is completely off the table there is nothing to stop the federal government from continuing to encroach on our liberties and no recourse for those who are sick and tired of it.”
The federal government should drop laws that a wide majority of people oppose, Paul says.
“If the feds refuse to accept that and continue to run roughshod over the people, at what point do we acknowledge that is not freedom anymore? At what point should the people dissolve the political bands which have connected them with an increasingly tyrannical and oppressive federal government?”
© 2013 Newsmax. All rights reserved.