On the second Saturday of every month, Karl Gleim marches at the Alamo battle site in San Antonio. He lays a ceremonial wreath to mark Texas’ fight for independence from Mexico in 1836 and the Texas secession effort he supports today.
“It’s not any particular president or political party or any particular person who’s either an idiot or not, as the case may be, whatever,” said Gleim, a retiree who started his monthly marches at the Alamo eight years ago.
“My opinion is, I’m tired of the BS and the stuff that’s been going on for so long and looking at the idiots we’ve been dealing with in Washington for so long,” he said. “Screw that. We can do better than that, locally.”
Texit, as it’s become known, is poised for a major boost this week with the expected introduction of a bill in the state legislature to put the question of secession to voters in a November 2021 ballot referendum.
The notion, which has been batted around Texas for generations, looms much larger now in the wake of the violence at the U.S. Capitol by a virulent mob that attacked police and stormed Congress, causing five deaths. The stunning melee, seemingly encouraged by President Donald Trump, showed just how jagged and raw the divided nation is and how far passionate people might go to reject unwanted rule.
Republican state Rep. Kyle Biedermann, a conservative hardware store owner and gun dealer previously, says he will introduce the bill for a referendum as early as this week on whether Texas should assert its independence from the United States, without revealing any further specifics, in the legislative session that opens on January 12.
“The federal government is out of control and does not represent the values of Texans,” said Biedermann in emailed comments. “My office has been flooded with support from not only Texans, but like minded patriots across the country.”
If his bill survives committees and hearings, it could be put to a vote before the 150 state representatives and 31 senators, who convene at noon on the second Tuesday of January in odd-numbered years for no more than 140 days.
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