Secession is in the air. Britain withdrew from the European Union, Scotland wants out of the U.K., Catalonia from Spain, and, wait for it, California from the U.S. Yes, the days of our country's states being united may soon come to an end.
In fact, not only is California home to active secessionist and separatist movements, but so are Texas, Washington, Hawaii, Alaska, Vermont, and several other states. And with the degree to which our nation seems divided, one wonders if this isn't long overdue.
This hour, we speak with legal experts and advocates about the growing calls for secession both here and abroad. Would nations be better off if they allowed their citizens to secede, forming smaller, more like-minded sovereign territories? Would the citizens be better off? And, to be quite frank, would any of this even be legal?
GUESTS:
- Francis H. Buckley - Foundation professor at the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University, senior editor at The American Spectator, and the author of American Secession: The Looming Threat of a National Breakup
- Marcus Ruiz Evans - Co-founder of the Yes California movement and author of California's Next Century
- Erica Frankenberg - Professor of education and demography in the College of Education at Penn State University and co-author of several books including Educational Delusions?: Why Choice Can Deepen Inequality and How to Make Schools Fair
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Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired February 27, 2020.
