Secession from the U.S.: Proponents Making The Extra Push For California Exit ("Calexit")

With President Donald Trump now in control of the White House, supporters of California's secession from the United States of America are giving their campaign a more aggressive push, even as the likelihood of the state actually separating from the U.S. continues to be small.

Getting inspiration from the success of U.K.'s " Brexit", California's own attempt is being called " Calexit", and as a show of determination, a proposal for California to secede from the U.S. was submitted to the Secretary of State's office on Thursday.

The "Calexit" initiative aims to ask voters to repeal the clause in its state constitution declaring California as an inseparable part of the U.S.

Should the proposal qualifies for the ballot and is approved by voters, it could pave the way to a future vote on whether the state could actually break away from the rest of the country. It's a long shot, given also that previous attempts of similar secession moves in the past have failed.

Secretary of State Alex Padilla has confirmed that the group pushing for the proposal, Yes California Independence Campaign, was given the go signal to start attempting to collect almost 600,000 voter signatures required to place the plan on the ballot.

"Calexit" supporters say they take pride in California being the most diverse state and they want to continue having more immigrants, more minorities ,and more international connections. The YES California Independence Campaign website also says that in their view, their Californian values are already in conflict today with that of the U.S. , and that "remaining a state of the United States of America will mean they have to continue subsidizing other states to their own detriment, and to the detriment of their children."

The proposed constitutional amendment would also ask voters to repeal the clause in California constitution declaring that the U.S. Constitution is the supreme law. If it gets approved, a 2019 vote will be scheduled and would ask the voters, " Should California become a free, sovereign and independent country?". The campaign must submit the requires valid voter signatures by July 25 to qualify for the ballot.

A recent poll reveals that one in three Californian residents would support a potential secession from the U.S. due to their opposition to President Trump. Hillary Clinton's biggest popular votes lead came, of course, from California. Although, there was no mention of Trump in the current move for California's plan to separate from the nation.

The proposal is also being seen by its critics as a mere knee jerk reaction to Trump's presidency, and should be rather viewed in the context of past attempts' failures, and with the wider implications for Californians in mind.