One would think that with Democrats in charge of both houses of Congress, there would be less meddling in the local affairs of the District, but that’s not the case.

Recently Senator Tester of Montana and Congressman Travis Childers of Montana introduced legislation that would completely eliminate any locally-enacted regulation of firearms or ammunition in Washington. That’s right – anybody would be free to walk around with a semi-automatic rifle in DC. Talk about a threat to national security!

It’s a slap in the face to local governments everywhere, and was only done to gain cheap political points with the National Rifle Association. It’s clear Tester and Childers don’t give a rip about the people of DC, or the countless families who have lost loved ones to gun violence.

We’ve had enough of Congressional meddling with DC, and now we’re fighting back. My PAC, the Free and Equal DC Fund, will be running radio ads in Montana and Mississippi starting this week. We’ll be letting Tester’s and Childers’ constituents know that they don’t have full-time representatives in DC…and that maybe their Senator or Representative should be a DC City Councilmember instead.

You can see a sample of the ad below:

Please make a donation to keep them on the air at:
http://www.actblue.com/page/montanaradio

The member of DC for Democracy have always been the most active organization in the city when it comes to lobbying and advocating for our full representation on Capitol Hill. I thank them both for their endorsement and for their leadership and commitment to the people of Washington.

Are you frustrated with how pro-gun special interests have hijacked the issue of DC voting rights? What are you going to do about it?

Are you ready for more direct action and aggressive tactics? So is DC Vote!

This is your last chance to join us on Capitol Hill tomorrow, June 2 from 12:00 – 1:00 PM. We will engage in a direct action targeting one of Washington, DC’s opponents in Congress.

Will you help us send a strong message to Congress to stop interfering with DC’s affairs? Although this will not be a civil disobedience action, we do want to apply direct pressure on our opponents. To RSVP, e-mail rsvp@dcvote.org by 5:00 PM TODAY. We will provide you with more information regarding a specific meeting location and other next steps.

We look forward to seeing you tomorrow at 12:00 PM.

In case you haven’t heard, the DC Voting Rights bill was pulled today by Delegate Norton. There was talk last week of a compromise on the gun amendment issue, but it looks like the NRA wanted too much from the District when it came to giving up local gun control legislation. I’m glad she did pull it, as it looks like the deal was getting worse all the time. I do wish that her office had floated a trial balloon privately with other District elected officials before announcing the she was agreeing to the gun amendment, as the past few days of division with the voting rights community didn’t do anyone any favors.

Here’s the statement from Delegate Norton’s office:

New Developments Force Delay on Voting Rights Bill, but Norton Already at Work on New Strategies

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today, in light of new developments that are just emerging in both the House and Senate, has asked House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) to remove the D.C. voting rights bill from the floor schedule for now. Congresswoman Norton’s statement follows:

“After working for a full year to bring a clean D.C. voting rights bill to the House floor, while continuing to negotiate a gun compromise, I made the most difficult decision last week to begin moving forward with the D.C. voting rights bill. It appeared that despite a gun amendment, our best chance to pass D.C. voting rights was this year because the 60 Senate votes resulting from our pairing with Utah disappears after the 2010 census becomes effective, and large majorities in the House and Senate cannot be assured in the current political climate. However, new developments in both the House and Senate have now made it difficult to pass the D.C. House Voting Rights Act right now.

“First, concerning developments in the House, over the weekend, the Democratic House leadership and I were shocked and blindsided to receive an updated NRA-drafted House gun bill, which would have been significantly more harmful to the city than the Senate (Ensign) gun bill. I cannot agree to these egregious changes, not only because they make the already bad gun attachment to the D.C. voting rights bill even worse than I thought was possible, but also because the new sections will surely bring down the support we have had of anti-gun Democratic Senators. Senate Democratic support was already in doubt because some Democrats had said they would not vote for the final bill if it contained the Ensign gun amendment. I had hoped that some changes I requested in the Senate gun amendment would hold their support, but three outrageous provisions in the updated NRA-drafted House gun bill virtually guarantee the loss of some Senate Democratic support, and therefore of the D.C. voting rights bill.

“The existing Senate gun bill eliminated important gun safety laws in the District, but the changes in the House gun bill would directly proliferate guns throughout the District. First, the District would be barred from prohibiting or even unduly burdening the carrying of firearms by persons, either concealed or openly, in public, an unthinkable provision for both hometown D.C. and official Washington. Second, the bill would permit the District of Columbia police chief to issue concealed carry licenses and severely limited the chief’s discretion to refuse to do so. To make matters even worse, I also learned yesterday that we will have difficulty defeating a potential Republican motion to recommit, using their right to offer one amendment on, the gun bill. We believe that such an amendment would allow persons to carry firearms, either concealed or openly, without permits, taking away even the police chief’s limited discretion to deny such permits. Consequently, a person in the District would be able to walk on the streets carrying an assault weapon slung over her shoulder or with concealed weapons. Third, the District of Columbia would not be able to prohibit guns in city-controlled buildings or structures, unless they had certain security measures to identify and exclude unauthorized or hazardous persons or articles, such as guard posts, metal detectors, or card-based or biometric access devices. Under this provision, for example, D.C. might not be able to ban guns at public and charter schools, recreation centers, and many other public buildings that do not have such security measures. Fourth, residential or commercial building owners in the District would not be able to prohibit or restrict the possession of firearms by tenants. Considering that almost all of the commercial space in the District of Columbia is leased and that most residential housing here is leased, almost every commercial office building, as well as all rental housing units, could be filled with persons possessing guns. These provisions are so over the top, they are unworthy of serious consideration.

“Concerning developments in the Senate, even if we had not faced this new, unexpected NRA-drafted House gun bill, we were surprised last week by the vocal and strident opposition of Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) to the House version of the D.C. voting rights bill, and today’s statement by Susan Collins joining in opposition (R-ME). I admire and have worked closely for many years with Senator Hatch on many issues, including the D.C. voting rights bill. Senator Hatch has argued forcefully and with great principle that Constitution permits Congress to grant the District a House seat. We have always known that Senator Hatch opposed Utah’s temporary additional fourth being elected at-large, as opposed to redistricting, but we had hoped to be able to reconcile the House and Senate bills, as well as to encourage Republican Senators to support the D.C. House voting rights bill on principle. However, we did not anticipate Senator Hatch’s harsh opposition to the House bill on at-large grounds, nor did we expect him to ‘filibuster and vote against this bill, and…urge…Senate colleagues to do so as well.’ Senator Hatch’s filibuster of the bill almost surely will have the support of his Republican colleagues, leaving us without 60 votes.

“With the invaluable and indispensible leadership of DC Vote, the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, and coalition of legions of allies I have fought a fight that is part of my DNA as a third-generation Washingtonian, whose great grandfather settled here as a runaway slave from Virginia. Our city cannot give up now, and we are fortunate to have the continuing strong support of our Democratic leadership. We have begun to develop new strategies to get a voting rights bill through the Congress that can pass, but I will have public meetings before bringing forward new approaches to achieve voting rights. We have developed a strategy for advancing budget and legislative autonomy this year.

“As I said last week, gun forces have the votes to take out our gun laws on another bill, and be assured that they will try to do so. I have successfully fought them off four times in the past until they came upon the voting rights bill. I will return to the trenches where I have always fought for my hometown to do all I can to turn back these aggressors. At the same time, I am full of promising ideas about how to move forward not only on voting rights but on every right D.C. residents are entitled to as American citizens. I ask only that my constituents work with me to achieve these goals.”

THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary

__________________________________________________

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 16, 2010
Statement by the President

On this occasion, we remember the day in 1862 when President Lincoln freed the enslaved people of Washington, DC – nine months before he issued the Emancipation Proclamation. I am proud that an original copy of that document now hangs in the Oval Office, and we remain forever grateful as a nation for the struggles and sacrifices of those Americans who made that emancipation possible.

Americans from all walks of life are gathering in Washington today to remind members of Congress that although DC residents pay federal taxes and serve honorably in our armed services, they do not have a vote in Congress or full autonomy over local issues. And so I urge Congress to finally pass legislation that provides DC residents with voting representation and to take steps to improve the Home Rule Charter.

According to the article:

Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, the city’s non-voting House member, said she is still negotiating to try to weaken the gun amendment, but that she is unwilling to sacrifice the opportunity to win a long-sought voting seat for the District by insisting on a stand-alone bill.

“This is the best chance we’ve had to get a House vote for D.C. in my lifetime,” Norton said. “Nobody would leave it on the table because it’s not at all clear when there will be another chance.”

I’ll post more details as they become available…the situation is very fluid.

In any case, it’s a great time to come to the DC Vote Lobby Day on Friday April 16th. We’re meeting at 8:00am in the new Capitol Visitors Center. I’m leading a team and I hope to see you there.

Representative Browne was a tireless activist on behalf of winning congressional representation for the District, and his work for the city he loved will not be forgotten. Through his efforts, Representative Browne was able to secure resolutions in support of District representation from dozens of cities and states across the country – and by doing so educated thousands of elected officials about DC’s unique status. Much of the progress we’ve made on obtaining a vote in the House for the District can be directly tied back to his efforts.

While collecting signatures for my ballot petition in 2006, many people were sad to hear that Ray wasn’t running for reelection. They also reminded me that I would have big shoes to fill if I were to win the election. It seemed everywhere I went, people in every ward across the city had wonderful things to say about Representative Browne, and his work. The District is a better place because of his service.

Representative Browne was a mentor to me as I began my own tenure as DC’s Shadow Representative, and was always very generous with his time and advice. I’ve been proud to build upon the work he started, and I will continue to do so.

Representative Brown’s passing should remind all of us that no matter what challenges we face, we must not stop fighting until the District stands free and equal with the other states in our union.

DC Vote

The big question: Did all this effort by groups hoping to get their issue into the speech get noticed at at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue? Well….not so much. Here’s what Press Secretary Robert Gibbs had to say at today’s press briefing:

Q Robert, obviously a lot of various groups hoping the President will talk about their issue in his speech tomorrow. D.C. Vote, for example, I know held a petition drive urging him to talk about D.C. voting rights. From the White House perspective, what has that effort been like by various folks looking for a mention of their cause in the speech? How intense has that been?

MR. GIBBS: I have to admit, I haven’t the slightest idea. I don’t know whether anybody has seen the petitions or anything about what that is.

Let’s hope he’s just bluffing so everyone is really surprised when they hear it in the speech tomorrow. Given the fact that any mention of DC voting rights in the State of the Union would be the only time Obama has every spoken about the issue as President, I’m not holding my breath.

I have three questions for you:

1) Are you still looking for the perfect holiday gift?
2) Do you like snarky T-shirts?
3) Do you want to support the DC Statehood Fund?

If the the answer was “yes” to any of the above, then look no further as the t-shirts below are perfect for anyone who needs to play Santa. I can’t guarantee we’ll get Congressional representation in our stockings this year, but I can promise a few chuckles from these shirts:

Give the gift that shows how much you love Senators from Nevada re-writing our local gun laws, or buy one for yourself to show everyone at the coffee shop that you call your “office” that you are demanding to be represented in Congress with some real votes – and have the t-shirt to prove it.

Proceeds from the sales go to the District of Columbia Statehood Fund.

“We will never make up for the HIV/AIDS epidemic that has besieged this city because needle exchange was banned for a decade, or make up for the resulting loss of lives. There is no way to make poor women, forced to carry pregnancies to term, believe that their reproductive choice was guaranteed in the decades during the longest of the bans, on using local funds for abortions for poor women. But, today we start a new chapter in democracy in the District of Columbia with the first D.C. appropriations in memory free of all un-democratic, anti-home rule riders.”

Laura Evans from Fox 5 did a good overview last night as well: