District Officials will in the coming months spend a lot of time and energy on a quest that even they realize is the longest of long shots: D.C. statehood. That doesn’t mean they are wrong to undertake the effort. It is important to keep reminding the American public and its leaders about the unjust treatment of people who live in the nation’s capital. D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) has announced a new front in the District’s long-running fight for equal rights. She proposed a three-part process that would allow the District to directly petition Congress for admission as a state. Statehood would give the District voting representation in the House and Senate as well as legislative and budget autonomy. The petition would be preceded by a November referendum and, if city voters favored statehood, a convention to draft and ratify a constitution. The new state would exclude a small federal enclave, thus making a constitutional amendment unnecessary.
The mayor wants the statehood package in place when a new administration and Congress take office. No matter who wins in November, though, it’s hard to foresee a scenario in the immediate future that would be favorable to statehood. Republicans will do everything they can to prevent the reliably Democratic District from gaining two Senate seats. Even some Democrats have reservations about statehood, including Maryland and Virginia representatives who want to protect residents of their states from a commuter tax.
Full Article: ‘Fair is fair’: A sensible path for D.C. statehood – The Washington Post.