Statehood for DC (14)
Congressman Makes Up Statistics About Black People To Argue Against DC Statehood
Written by Judd Legum | ThinkProgress
Appearing at a town hall meeting Wednesday night, Congressman Andy Harris (R-MD) argued that Washington, D.C. should not be a state because its residents make “irresponsible decisions.” District residents have been engaged in a decades-long fight for statehood in order to gain representation in Congress and full local control of their government.
John Oliver: Give Washington D.C. Statehood
Written by Daniel Kreps | Rolling Stone
On Sunday's Last Week Tonight, John Oliver asked why Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States, lacks many of the basic freedoms afforded to the rest of the Land of the Free.
Is DC About to Pass the Best Sick Leave in the Country?
Written by Michelle Chen | The Nation
A new proposal in the DC City Council would boost the district’s paid medical leave up to 16 weeks.
D.C. Statehood Activists Raise A Liberty Pole, Set Up Camp In Front Of The Capitol (UPDATE)
Written by Rachel Sadon | DCist
Update: The National Park Service has granted the activists a permit to keep the liberty pole on the Mall through 6 p.m. on April 20. "This ensures that while they are exercising their First Amendment rights, they are doing so in accordance with the requirements for public gatherings within National Mall and Memorial Parks," wrote NPS spokesperson Mike Litterst in an email.
First Subway Ads for D.C. Statehood Now Appear in Five Metrorail Stations
Written by Anise Jenkins and Bill Moseley
During March, passengers using five Metrorail stations will be greeted by standing ads that draw a link between the D.C. Statehood and civil rights movements. The ads were created by the Stand Up! for Democracy in D.C. Coalition (Free DC).
Pot now legal in D.C. despite threats from Congress
Written by Mike DeBonis and Aaron Davis | The Washington Post
Despite warnings from congressional Republicans, Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser allowed D.C.'s marijuana legalization law to take effect at 12:01 a.m. Thursday.
Norton’s Record 93 Original Cosponsors for D.C. Statehood Bill in the First Weeks of Congress Keeps House Statehood Base Solid
Written by Office of Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton
The office of Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) reports that the District of Columbia statehood bill’s 93 original cosponsors, a record number of Members who cosponsored the bill before its introduction, ranks in the top 1% of the 662 bills introduced thus far in the 114th Congress.
Protests begin as Congress tilts toward upending D.C. law legalizing pot
Written by Aaron C. Davis and Mike DeBonis | The Washington Post
D.C. officials and activists for marijuana legalization launched a long-shot bid Wednesday to halt a federal budget deal that appeared poised to upend the city’s successful ballot measure last month to legalize the drug.
D.C. Statehood Activists Looking Toward GOP Congress
Written by Hannah Hess and Bridget Bowman | Roll Call
If anyone understands what a “grungy game” politics can be, it’s Capitol Hill staffers.
DC Council Looks to Streamline Statehood Efforts
Written by Hannan Hess | Roll Call
In the four decades since Home Rule, elected officials in the District of Columbia have created four different commissions aimed at making the city the 51st state. Looking at the current condition of those panels, it might be obvious why the flag only has 50 stars.
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Norton Statehood Testimony Says D.C. is the Equal of the States
Written by Jon Amar, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton | Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Office of Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today released her written testimony for tomorrow’s Senate District of Columbia statehood hearing at 3:00 p.m. in room 342 in the Dirksen Senate Office Building. In her testimony, Norton thanked Senator Tom Carper (D-DE), the chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, for holding a hearing that she said is the “most important vehicle afforded by Congress…that the matter constitutes a serious national concern that should move to passage.” She said that D.C. local officials and residents accept their “reciprocal responsibility for all of us who live in the District to continue to build support for the bill.”
DC Democracy and Statehood Timeline
Written by Anise Jenkins | FreeDC.org
The fight for equality for the residents of Washington DC started in the very early 1800's when the Organic Act of 1801 established the U.S. Capital to include the cities of Alexandria, Georgetown, and Washington. Having only just recently fought the Revolutionary War to attain their freedoms from the Crown along with the rest of the citizens of the United States, the residents of these cities found themselves stripped of their own home rule and full representation in Congress! It didn't have to be that way.
Norton Says First Senate Hearing in Twenty Years Takes DC Statehood to a New Level
Written by Jon Amar | Comm Director for Congresswoman Eleanor Norton
Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) said today that Senator Thomas Carper’s (D-DE) announcement of the first District of Columbia statehood hearing in more than two decades highlights “a season of unusual progress for D.C. statehood.” Senator Carper, chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, is one of the cosponsors of the Senate companion bill to Norton’s D.C. statehood bill, the New Columbia Admission Act.
National Democratic Group Joins Fight for DC Statehood
Written by Valencia Mohammed | Afro.com
Progressive Democrats of America showed its support for D.C. statehood by including the issue in its August 2014 letter drop-off campaign to senators and congressional leaders. Since 2004, Progressive Democrats in America (PDA) has strengthened the voice of progressive ideas inside and outside the Democratic Party by using grassroots models such as this.