NACOGDOCHES, TX (KTRE) -
In the wake of last week's elections results, more than 80,000 Texans have logged on to the official White House Web site, signing a petition asking the government to allow the state of Texas to become a new country.
But, Ken Collier, a political science professor at Stephen F. Austin State University, said the process is a little more complicated.
"Secession isn't a simple thing," Collier said, "You can't just up and leave as the Confederacy learned during the Civil War."
The petition was filed by someone in Arlington Texas. Those that signed are saying they're unhappy with the federal government and want change - change they think will only come in the form of secession.
The Lone Star State is one of nearly 34 states that have filed petition to secede from the United States. A petition needs 25,000 signatures in 30 days to get attention from the government, but that doesn't mean petitioners will get what they want.
"It's not really legal reality because in fact we joined the Union under the terms everybody else did," Collier said.
According to other political experts, the annexation agreement gave Texas the right to divide into as many as five states, but it says nothing about secession.
East Texas residents seem to be split on the matter.
Collier said he believes this secession issue is driven by upset voters that are not pleased with the election turnout.
"I think you'll see this die down pretty quickly, after every election, you hear something like this," Collier said. "People want to secede, people want to move to Canada, or whatever, but in the end they step back, reflect and understand how much they love their country and how much they would give away if they moved away."
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Dr. Collier, SFA political science professor
