In one of my recent articles, I explained why I object to the idea of California, or any state for that matter, seceding from the union. Not only would it be damaging to California, a state that is already teetering on the brink of collapse as it is, but it could also hurt America in general, and in more ways than one.

Breitbart news recently sat down for an interview with Louis Marinelli, the leader and co-founder of the Calexit movement. Marinelli touched on several important topics regarding the secession effort, including short term and long term goals, motivating factors, and potential barriers the movement could face along the way.

“I envision a California much like the country that our Founding Fathers envisioned,” Marinelli said. “A country where all are treated equally under the law; a country that provides for the common defense, promotes the general welfare of its people, and a country that secures our liberty from foreign and domestic threats.” (RELATED: What happens if California succeeds with its secession effort?)

The obvious follow-up question, of course, is if your goal is to establish a country like America, why not just live in America? Marinelli even admitted that he wants California’s founding to essentially be identical to the founding of our country – equality under the law, a country that secures the liberty of the people, etc. Why put in the effort to build something when you already have it?

As Marinelli explains, the Calexit movement is all about the corruption and dysfunction in Washington D.C. More specifically, however, Marinelli said that “the straw that broke the camel’s back for me was Congress’ inability to pass comprehensive immigration reform in 2014 after the Senate passed it and the president promised to sign it,” the Calexit leader explained. “Even a majority of the House of Representatives would have voted for it if it were brought up to a vote. But partisan political games held that vote up.”

Marinelli went on to say that the failure to pass immigration reform had a significant impact on his family and his marriage. “It exerted a tremendous amount of stress on my relationship when the woman I brought here from another country couldn’t work, study, or really do much more than sit around the house all day because of the political situation in my country.”

As you probably already guessed, Marinelli’s wife is in the country illegally.

Breitbart News then asked Marinelli to explain the steps necessary for secession, given that there is no Constitutional protocol for leaving the union.

“At the risk of sounding like a conservative,” Marinelli began (because God forbid you sound like a conservative), “the power [to secede] is a power reserved to the people, or to the states via the Tenth Amendment.” Marinelli stated that he is a “big supporter of the Tenth Amendment.”

The Calexit co-founder then went on to address law experts who have claimed that secession is either unlawful or unconstitutional. “They have only provided their opinions but law experts provide their opinions in a court of law every day only to be rejected by the courts. Ultimately, this will be something determined by judges, not law experts giving their opinion on cable news networks.”

There have been reports out in recent weeks suggesting that Louis Marinelli was working with Russian authorities to remove California from the union. When asked whether or not this was true, Marinelli said that he is “willing to partner with any group that supports Californian independence – when our goals are aligned.” Marinelli made it explicitly clear that while he is not opposed to working with Russian organizations, it is in no way an endorsement of any of their other agendas.

Sources

Breitbart.com

YesCalifornia.org