Sign the petition: Statehood for D.C. now!
- Details
- Published on Sunday, 29 November -0001 16:00
- Written by editor
This is a message from a partner organization of The Intercept and does not imply the editorial endorsement of The Intercept or any of its staff. Our partner organization will collect your name and email address if you participate in the action below.
Taxation without representation was wrong in 1776, and it is wrong today. The people of D.C. pay the highest federal taxes per capita but have no voting representation in Congress. Becoming a state ends this injustice.
D.C. residents bear all the responsibilities of full U.S. citizenship: They serve on juries, in the U.S. military, and work hard to build safe, strong communities where they live. And yet the 700,000+ people who call D.C. home, the majority of whom are... Black or brown, have no vote on any decisions our Congress makes every day, even though they exert undue power over those residents. This includes maintenance within the district, banning a district-elected legalization of marijuana, and even regulating legal abortion access.
Those residents — who are mostly people of color and members of front-line communities — are denied the most basic tenet that founded our country: representation. This is a fundamental civil rights issue.
Now, Sen. Tom Carper of Delaware reintroduced legislation to make Washington, D.C., the 51st state. The bill would give Washington, D.C., citizens full representation in Congress; the bill MUST pass.
Make no mistake, this is voter suppression. Equality at the ballot box cannot be guaranteed until Congress grants the residents of D.C. the statehood they deserve to be a part of the democratic process. It’s past time this great injustice be righted.
First Look Institute is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization (tax ID number 80-0951255).
The Intercept’s mailing address is:
First Look Institute
P.O. Box 27442
Washington, DC 20038
The Intercept is an award-winning nonprofit news organization dedicated to holding the powerful accountable through fearless, adversarial journalism. Our in-depth investigations and unflinching analysis focus on surveillance, war, corruption, the environment, technology, criminal justice, the media and more. Email is an important way for us to communicate with The Intercept’s readers, but if you’d like to stop hearing from us, click here to r0 from all communications. Protecting freedom of the press has never been more important. Contribute now to support our independent journalism.