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Fighting for Voting Rights
| Source: |
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Woman's Monthly - WOMO (DC) |
| Date: |
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Saturday, June 1, 2002 |
| Author: |
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Melanie H. Alston-Akers |
| Page/Section: |
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Editorial |
Some gays and lesbians in this country are without Congressional representation. Which ones? Those who reside in the District of Columbia. Why? Because all DC residents lack representatives in the House and Senate. In May, the Coalition for DC Representation in Congress Education Fund (DC Vote) organized a Senate Lobby Day. This brought great attention to the issue, as well as the typical, idiotic comments from folks who either don't understand or don't care that DC residents experience taxation without representation (DC residents pay federal income tax).
For example, some folks say "If you don't like it, move." If only it were so easy. Yes, I used to live in DC and I was able to move. But not everyone can. It's extremely elitist to think that anyone can pick up and move. And what about those folks who were born here? Should they have to move? That's an incredibly burdensome requirement for full voting rights.
Others say that the U.S. Constitution established DC this way, so we have to take it. Please. The U.S. Constitution's record on voting rights is horrendous at best. I hope you recall that this is the paper which originally permitted only white men with property to vote.
And some folks agree with the effort, but are cynical about results because a Republican president is unlikely to provide a mostly Democratic DC with a vote in Congress. But shouldn't that propel the fight forward? How can we allow politicians to deny a vote to someone because they don't like the way the person might vote?!
So what can we do? We can all support DC Vote. If you live in DC, volunteer and join the cry for your rights. If outside DC, we can also join DC Vote as well as write our Congressional representatives stating our support for DC voting rights. For more tips and information, visit DC vote at www.dcvote.org. The site includes the history of DC's fight for equal voting rights, plus more background on the issue that I can provide in this short space. Let's all join the fight. It's not only the ethical thing to do, but it might put another Democrat in Congress.
Melanie is WOMO's Managing Editor. Send your comments to letters@womo.com.
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