Jerry Falwell Jr. and Gov. Jim Justice invite conservative Virginia counties to secede and join West Virginia

Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr. speaks as West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice listens. (Photo via TPM)

The boundary of Virginia and West Virginia is barely visible, in this
map of the 2016 presidential vote by precinct, since the states' rural
areas voted Republican.(New York Times map; click on it to enlarge)

"In what they acknowledged is a long-shot bid, West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice and Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr. urged unhappy Virginia counties Tuesday to secede and join a neighboring state where Democrats aren’t in charge," Anthony Izaguirre and Alan Suderman report for The Associated Press.

Liberty University is in Lynchburg, Va., an independent city surrounded by one of the counties encouraged to secede; Falwell, a staunch supporter of President Trump, has helped vault the college into a conservative political touchstone in a state that has recently turned Democratic. Justice, who recently became a Republican and is running for re-election in a state freshly dominated by the GOP, said West Virginia welcomes those who oppose abortion and gun control.

The so-called "Vexit" movement is a response to last November's Virginia election, in which Democrats won full control of the state legislature. With Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam at the helm, Democrats have "pledged to enact gun-control measures, roll back abortion restrictions, and prohibit discrimination against LGBTQ people," the AP reports. That sparked a huge backlash in rural Virginia: at least 60 of the 95 counties have since declared themselves "Second Amendment sanctuaries," a largely symbolic gesture that asserts local authorities' right to disregard state and federal gun-control laws, AP reports. More recently, thousands of gun-rights activists protested in the state capital of Richmond, many wearing tactical gear and carrying firearms.

The press conference was met with derision on both sides of the aisle in the Virginia General Assembly; Sen. Emmett Hanger, a Republican, likened the press conference to a "comedy routine," Izaguirre and Suderman report. A spokesperson for Northam said, "Sounds like it’s an election year in West Virginia," Matt Shuham reports for Talking Points Memo.

However, some West Virginia state legislators are taking the notion seriously. A few weeks ago, lawmakers "introduced formal resolutions inviting parts of Virginia to join their state. One resolution targets Virginia’s Frederick County, but was met with a shrug from the county’s leader," the AP reports. "The other casts a wider net to all Virginia’s counties, saying the 'government at Richmond now seeks to place intolerable restraints upon the rights guaranteed under the Second Amendment.'"

Justice noted during the press conference that West Virginia and Virginia share a unique history, alluding to the fact that West Virginia is the only state formed by seceding from a Confederate state. Justice reiterated at the press conference that all Virginia counties have a 158-year-old standing invitation to join the state, Elizabeth Tyree reports for WSET-TV in Lynchburg.

It's unclear how secession would proceed, but Falwell said lawyers had advised him that Virginia counties would need to first conduct petition drives, then hold a referendum, and if that succeeded, the proposal would go before the General Assembly, Izaguirre and Suderman report. Rick Boyer, a conservative activist attorney in Virginia, said he's working hard to make Vexit a reality. "This isn’t street theater; we fully intend to do everything we can to see it through," Boyer told the AP.