Once upon at time, the following declaration came out of our state capitol.
Ordinance of Secession.
We, the People of the State of Florida in Convention assembled, do solemnly ordain, publish and declare: That the State of Florida hereby withdraws herself from the Confederacy of States existing under the name of the United States of America, and from the existing Government of said States; and that all political connection between her and the Government of said States ought to be and the same is hereby totally annulled, and said union of States dissolved; and the State of Florida is hereby declared a Sovereign and Independent Nation; and that all ordinances heretofore adopted in so far as they create or recognize said Union are rescinded; and all laws or parts of laws in force in this State, in so far as they recognize or assent to said Union be and they are hereby repealed.
Done in open Convention, January 10th, A.D. 1861
“….In early January 1861, a special convention of delegates from around the state met in Tallahassee to consider whether Florida should leave the Union. Governor Madison Starke Perry and Governor-elect John Milton were both strong supporters of secession. For days, the issues were debated inside and outside the convention. In a minority opinion, former territorial governor Richard Keith Call, acting as a private citizen, argued that secession would bring only ruin to the state.
On January 10, 1861, the delegates voted sixty-two to seven to withdraw Florida from the Union. The next day, in a public ceremony on the east steps of the capitol, they signed a formal Ordinance of Secession. News of the event generally led to local celebrations. Later, the delegates adopted a new state constitution. Florida was the third state to leave the Union, and within a month it joined with other southern states to form the Confederate States of America.
News of the war’s end reached Florida in rumors and fragments later in April and in early May. Several months before, Florida’s Governor Milton had proclaimed that death would be preferable to reunion, and on April 1, he ended his life with a self-inflicted gunshot wound…”
–Florida Department of State Website Historical Page
I am not suggesting Florida leave the union. I am not suggesting our legislature have the same courage of conviction exemplified by Governor Milton. There must be some middle ground though between these two positions where legislators can offer some conviction and core beliefs. (And by the way, can you name any town or county named after Richard Keith Call? There is however a Madison County, towns named Starke and Perry and a Milton, Florida.)
The legislature currently has three once highly touted “sovereignty” bills on the table for the upcoming session. These are “The Florida Tenth Amendment Resolution,” “The Fire Arms Freedom Act” and the “Health Care Freedom Act.” These bills, their authors and cosponsors can be found at http://flfreedom.org/
The Health Care Freedom Act is currently awaiting hearing in committee as HJR37. If added to our state constitution as an amendment, it provides the citizens of Florida with protection from the penalties proposed by nationalized health care.
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