A 51-star flag flies on Pennsylvania Avenue proper earlier than Congress is ready to carry hearings on statehood for Washington, D.C.
Fb/Mayor Muriel Bowser
Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser on Monday ordered 51-star American flags to be displayed alongside Pennsylvania Avenue forward of Flag Day, June 14.
The mayor stated she directed her crew to hold the 51-star flags “as a reminder to Congress and the nation that the 700,000 tax-paying Americans residing in Washington, D.C. demand to be acknowledged.
“On Flag Day, we rejoice American beliefs, American historical past, and American liberty. However the very basis of these beliefs, and the idea for our liberty, is illustration,” Mayor Bowser stated in a press release. “DC’s disenfranchisement is a stain on American democracy – a 220-year-old fallacious that calls for to be righted.”
The celebrities on the American flag signify the 50 states, the final of which, Hawaii, was admitted on August 21, 1959. The American flag’s 50-star design turned official on July 4, 1960.
The notion of D.C. statehood stays a contentious concern amongst lawmakers. D.C. has a inhabitants of greater than 700,000 residents – higher than the states of Wyoming or Vermont – however the residents don’t have a voting member within the Home and don't have any illustration within the Senate. Nor does the district have management over its personal native affairs. Nonetheless, D.C. pays extra in federal taxes than 21 states and extra capital than any state, in accordance with the 2019 IRS knowledge ebook.
In April, Home Democratic lawmakers handed the “DC Admission Act,” which might make Washington, D.C. the 51st state and grant its residents full illustration in Congress.
Republican lawmakers have argued that as a result of Washington, D.C.’s institution is predicated in Article 1, part 8, clause 17 of the Structure, any change to the district should come within the type of a constitutional modification – not laws from Congress. They’ve additionally argued that the thought of D.C. statehood quantities to little greater than an influence seize by Democrats to increase the bulk within the Senate by including two extra senators from a liberal enclave.
In her Monday assertion, Bowser invoked the leaked Supreme Courtroom opinion draft that urged Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 case that legalized abortion, was about to be overturned.
“As People nationwide brace for a determination on the way forward for Roe v. Wade, we're additionally reminded that DC’s disenfranchisement impacts not simply People residing in D.C., however People nationwide who share our values,” Bowser stated. “Whereas the stakes are even larger for Washingtonians, we stand shoulder to shoulder with nearly all of People who imagine in a girl’s proper to decide on.”
Bowser urged that almost all of D.C. residents are on the identical web page “with nearly all of People” calling for “widespread–sense gun reforms.”
“We're at an inflection level for American democracy, and it's inside the Senate’s energy to do the correct factor, embrace illustration, and transfer DC statehood ahead to the President’s desk,” Bowser stated.
The nation’s 106th Flag Day shall be noticed on Tuesday, June 14, 2022.
People throughout the nation pays tribute to the nationwide flag, which was adopted almost a yr after the U.S. declared its independence when the Second Continental Congress formally accepted the primary design for America’s nationwide flag – June 14, 1777.
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