House Passes Undemocratic Disapproval Resolutions on DC

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
February 9th, 2023

PRESS CONTACT:
Patrice Snow
[email protected]

Washington, DC – The full House of Representatives just voted to strike down two laws approved by our own Council to update our woefully outdated criminal laws and to expand voting rights for non-citizens, including undocumented members of our community. In light of this extremely harmful development, DC Vote’s communications director Patrice Snow released the following statement:

“Disapproving these pieces of legislation that were passed lawfully by the DC Council is yet another attempt to undermine our District’s will, thwart the DC Statehood movement, and repeal Home Rule. Period. Rep. James Corner of Kentucky, Congressman Andrew Clyde, who lives in Athens, Georgia, and Senator Bill Hagerty, who resides in Gallatin, Tennessee, led the opposition to the democratically-passed legislation without a single hearing where a DC resident or DC elected official were allowed to speak on the merits of revising the criminal code or allowing all residents, regardless of their immigrant status, participate in only local elections. It is clearer now than it ever was before that overturning the little democracy that the 700,000 tax paying residents currently have is the goal.”

Snow finished, “Despite today’s developments, we at DC Vote and in the DC Statehood movement are still motivated to achieve nothing less than full freedom. It is unacceptable that in 2023 there are still Americans who are fighting their status as second-class citizens. The freedom to govern ourselves and determine our own destiny is far too important for the antics and stunts of those who want to roll back the basic, fundamental rights of DC’s residents. DC Statehood is the only answer.”

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