Republican state Rep. Michael Speciale, who represents the 3^rd District in the N.C. House of Representatives, has tendered proposed amendments to the North Carolina Constitution that would delete a section that prohibits the state’s secession from the United States of America and remove a reference to the federal government.

Speciale is among the chief sponsors of House Bill 146 and House Bill 147, filed in the state House on Tuesday. Republican state Reps. George Cleveland of Jacksonville and Larry Pittman of Concord are other chief sponsors of the bills. The three Republicans are considered as among the more-conservative members of the state House.

House Bill 147 would delete the section of the North Carolina Constitution that says the state “shall ever remain a member of the American union.” House Bill 146 addresses wording stating that a citizen owes primary allegiance to the U.S. Constitution and U.S. government. The bill would remove the reference to the government.

The bills would need approval of three-fifths of the members of the state House and State senate before the issue could go to voters to decide in the November 2018 general election.

Speciale did not respond to attempts to contact him for comment on the bills.

As for House Bill 147, “The Constitution should be of, for, and by the people of North Carolina, and that (article) is not,” Speciale told the Sun Journal of New Bern earlier this week. “The timing isn’t the best. We hear a lot about California wanting to secede, but we aren’t wanting to do that,” adding that the bill “means absolutely nothing other than it will no longer be in the Constitution.”

Speciale told the Sun Journal he introduced the bills to keep his campaign promises.

Brad Crone, a consultant to Democratic candidates across the state and president of Campaign Connections, a Raleigh-based consulting firm that specializes in public relations, public affairs and grassroots campaigns for corporations, advocacy groups and trade associations, doesn’t think much of House Bill 147. “Speciale’s bill showcases the extreme fringes of our politics today. Secession is laughable. It may make a few super alt-right voters feel good, but there is no political reality to its success. You know, North Carolina tried secession in 1861 and it did not work out too well, lest we forget General Tecumseh Sherman,” reads an email from Crone, who spoke to the Beaufort County Progressive Alliance on Tuesday.

Speciale’s bills have gotten the notice of John C. Wynne, known as the conservative voice at PoliticsNC. In a recent posting on PoliticsNC, Wynne wrote that Speciale “is rapidly transitioning into a progressive hero, fighting steadfastly to defend the rights of his countrymen against the ravages of the Trump administration.”

Wynne connects House Bill 147 to the California movement (Calexit) that calls for the state to secede from the Union.

“The secession bill basically repeals the part of the constitution that says the state will always be a member of the Union. Of course, the Supreme Court has found that there is no right for a state to secede, so even if that part was repealed a constitutional amendment would still be needed in order for states to actually secede,” Wynne wrote in an email to the Daily News. “As far as I know, the ‘allegiance to the U.S. Constitution’ clause would not actually do anything, but is rather to make a point that citizens of North Carolina must be in allegiance to the Constitution and not necessarily the government.”

Sen. Bill Cook, the Republican who represents District 1 in the state Senate, said in an email, “Rep. Speciale works tirelessly for his constituents, and he’s always willing to listen whether he agrees with you or not. However, I typically review and comment on House bills if and when they pass the House”

Speciale is a primary sponsor of House Bill 148 that would repeal the North Carolina Constitutional requirement that voters pass a literacy test as a condition to register to vote. He’s also a sponsor of House Bill 145 that would repeal the section of the state constitution that permits the state to regulate the concealed carrying of weapons.

House Democrats William Richardson, Kelly Alexander, Mary Belk, Edward Hanes Jr. and Pricey Harrison are sponsors of House Bill 148. Republican Beverly Boswell, who represents the 6^th District in the state House, is a co-sponsor of the four bills. The 6th District includes part of Beaufort County.

Attempts to reach Boswell for comment on Speciale’s bills were unsuccessful.

The four bills were referred to the Committee on Rules, Calendar and Operations of the House on Wednesday.

 

 

 

What the North Carolina Constitution says

 

Article I, Section 4: “This State shall ever remain a member of the American Union; the people thereof are part of the American nation; there is no right on the part of this State to secede; and all attempts, from whatever source or upon whatever pretext, to dissolve this Union or to sever this Nation, shall be resisted with the whole power of the State.”

House Bill 147 would repeal Section 4.

 

Article I, Section 5: “Every citizen of this State owes paramount allegiance to the Constitution and government of the United States, and no law or ordinance of the State in contravention or subversion thereof can have any binding force.”

House Bill 146 calls for removing two words — “and government’ — from Section 5.

 

Article VI, Section 4: “Every person presenting himself for registration shall be able to read and write any section of the Constitution in the English language.”

House Bill 148 would repeal this provision.

 

Article I, Section 30: “A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed; and, as standing armies in time of peace are dangerous to liberty, they shall not be maintained, and the military shall be kept under strict subordination to, and governed by, the civil power. Nothing herein shall justify the practice of carrying concealed weapons, or prevent the General Assembly from enacting penal statutes against that practice.”

House Bill 145 would remove the last sentence of the section.