[Heyworth]

The subject of individual political secession is a tricky one. Hard core libertarians would say yes. Of course it raises the issue of lawlessness. Couldn't people just secede when they got arrested. That is why John Calvin made the threshold the elected representatives of the political entity in question.

Okay, then let's do a little thought experiment. Let's assume a county with a three-member county board. The three of them, for some reason, announce that they've decided to secede their county from the United States. There's no mechanism for recall and they won't be up for re-election for four years. They're the only ones who want this secession.

Is it legitimate?

[Red Phillips]

Re. your thought experiment. Hard cases make bad law, as they say. What you are suggesting is that the 3 council members get together and decide to secede totally against the will of the people. To what end? This seems highly improbable. If it was totally against the will of the people they would likely riot or resist. And the situation would I guess have to be dealt with on an individual basis. The question for you is, if the secession actually reflected the will of the people, would you send troops in, kill 1/4 of the male population, rape the women, pillage their property, and burn every thing in sight in order to prevent it?