New Hampshire House rejects secession bill, amendment

The New Hampshire state House voted on Thursday to reject a constitutional amendment requiring secession if the U.S. national debt reaches $40 trillion and also a bill that would have created a commission to study the impact of secession.

The vote in the "Live Free or Die" state was held without debate, and both proposals were defeated soundly, just like they were two years ago when they were first brought forward.

Similar votes also failed in Mississippi and South Carolina in recent months.

Calls for a particular state to secede have grown louder, mostly from conservatives, as people's constitutional rights have been repeatedly trampled by the federal government.

The latest example is a Supreme Court ruling that said the federal government could remove or cut razor wire placed along the border at Eagle Pass by the state of Texas.

The tension between states' rights and federal power has existed since before the country was formed in 1776 and was a major sticking point in getting the Constitution signed.