DC Vote Denounces Ploy to Stall Action on DC Voting Rights Act

March 22, 2007

Washington, DC - Action on the DC Voting Rights Act (H.R. 1433) was postponed in the House earlier today when a group of members attempted to link the bill, which would give Washington, DC, its first ever voting member of Congress, with lifting the city's gun safety laws.

DC Vote, an advocacy organization with more than 60 coalition partners, has been leading the struggle to bring full congressional voting representation to the nearly 600,000 citizens of Washington, DC. The following statement from DC Vote Executive Director Ilir Zherka may be quoted in-part or in-full:

"Today, a small minority of House members who vehemently oppose bringing democracy to the American citizens living in Washington, DC, asserted a seldom-used procedural maneuver to halt action on the DC Voting Rights Act.

"Instead of celebrating the victory that was predicted for democracy, we are already working closely with the Democratic leadership, our Republican allies, and coalition partners to regroup. We will develop a strategy to overcome the deceptive ploys used by these enemies of American democracy, who have shown that they are eager to provide more guns for DC residents but not the vote.

"This is a momentary pause in the push to bring civil rights to the residents of the District of Columbia. Proponents of the bill will use this time to defeat these stall tactics and bring congressional voting representation to Washington, DC."

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