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Statehood Getting Closer for DC

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DC Statehood Now.
DC Statehood Now.
(Image by Wikipedia (commons.wikimedia.org), Author: Michelle Kinsey Bruns)
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Sen. Tom Carper, D-DE, and Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D.C.'s nonvoting delegate in the U.S. House of Representatives, held a joint press conference Tuesday announcing the Senate reintroduction of a bill that would make the District the 51st state according to the GW Hatchet.

Carper introduced the Washington, D.C. Admission Act as the companion to the House version Norton introduced earlier this month, which would grant the District statehood with the ability to pass legislation without approval from Congress and voting representation in both the Senate and House. Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-MD, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson also gave remarks in favor of the legislation, which is co-sponsored by 42 Senate Democrats.

"It is time to recognize that the citizens of the District are citizens of the United States," Mendelson said. "With all the responsibilities of citizens, of citizenship, but they do not have the full rights of U.S. citizens."

According to the 2020 census, the District of Columbia had a population of 689,545, greater than the states of Wyoming (576,851) and Vermont (643,077), yet famously has much fewer rights, including taxation without representation.

Alaska, the US state with the largest land mass of 665,384 square miles, (and large enough to fit 19 other states within its borders) had a population of 733,391 according to the 2020 census. The land area of Washington DC is 61.4 square miles, and would be the state with the smallest land mass, behind Rhode Island with 1545 square miles. However, according to these figures, DC has 70% of the population of Alaska with less than 16% of the land mass.

According to thoughtco.com, "The U.S. Census Bureau regards the District of Columbia as a 'state equivalent.' ... Black people comprise 48.3 percent of D.C.'s population, while Hispanics comprise 10.6 percent and Asians, 4.2 percent. Whites make up 36.1 percent of this region. The District of Columbia boasts the highest percentage of Black people of any state or state equivalent."

Historically, Republicans have voted against DC statehood.

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Meryl Ann Butler is an artist, author, educator and OpedNews Managing Editor who has been actively engaged in utilizing the arts as stepping-stones toward joy-filled wellbeing since she was a hippie. She began writing for OpEdNews in Feb, 2004. She became a Senior Editor in August 2012 and Managing Editor in January, (more...)
 

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