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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.
