Press Release - Leadership Conference on Civil Rights
LCCR Applauds Senate Passage of D.C. House Voting Rights Act; Urges House to Act Quickly
Statement of Leadership Conference on Civil Rights President Wade Henderson
For Immediate Release
Contact: Scott Westbrook Simpson, 202.466.2061, simpson@civilrights.org
February 26, 2009
"Today's Senate vote puts 600,000 residents of the District of Columbia one step closer to having the voting representation that every other American citizen enjoys. Residents of the District of Columbia serve in the military, pay taxes, and have all the obligations of citizenship, yet don't have a voting representative in Congress. Any school child can explain why this is neither just nor fair: It's taxation without representation.
This is a matter of simple justice and should have been dealt with simply. Yet, the Senate allowed for the inclusion of an unrelated amendment to repeal the city's gun-control laws, an issue already dealt with by the courts. Still, it is a step forward.
Citizens of Washington, D.C. are the only residents of any capital in the Western world without meaningful representation in their national government.
The power to rectify this profound injustice now lies in the hands of the House of Representatives, and we urge members of Congress to act swiftly and pass the D.C. House Voting Rights Act."
