True or False: "DC cannot be a state because it doesn't have a car dealership or a landfill" - Rep Jody Hice (R-Ga), during Congressional Hearing on Statewood
Very False. The Constitution makes no mention of requiring car dealerships or landfills in order to become a state. DC has both.
One argument against statehood is that DC could retro-cede to this state to gain representation and other rights given to citizens that live in states. Of course, this state would have to agree to take the District back.
What is Maryland?
This DC Native was active in the civil rights movement and an organizer for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and later became the first woman to lead the EEOC. She has been the DC Delegate for the US House of Representatives since 1991. Bonus Points: What does she do?
Who is Eleanor Holmes Norton? Norton may serve on committees and speak on the House floor. She may also sponsor legislation – even though she wouldn’t be allowed to vote on its final passage.
The proposed changes to the US flag if DC were to become a state.
What is 51 stars?
This motto is inscribed on all DC license plates. During the Trump administration, it was noted that the presidential license plates were changed to omit this.
What is "taxation without representation?"
DC residents pay taxes (the most federal taxes per capita of any state) without the ability to vote for representation in Congress who control spending and taxation in DC. In the initial coronavirus stimulus funding bills, the smallest states in the US were given $2,000 per capita, while DC received $700 per capita.
False. The Constitution establishes that all citizens are created equal and statehood does not have economic requirements.
This is the only constraint the founders outlined for the creation of the District of Columbia.
What is "not to exceed 10 square miles"
This Anacostia resident was a former slave who became a prominent American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. The Commonwealth of DC would be renamed in his honor.
Who is Frederick Douglass
As of 2020, if DC were to become a state it would be the 3rd smallest state by population, ahead of these two states.
What is Vermont and Wyoming?
If DC were to become a state, it would be second to Hawaii for this population demographic.
What is a majority non-white population? DC currently would be the only state with a plurality of Black Americans (47%). When the first push for statehood happened in 1993,pre-gentrification, DC would have been the only Black-majority state. Many cite this as a reason Republicans do not desire DC statehood as it would guarantee an increase in Democratic representation in Congress
Republicans greatest fear is that the House of Representative's current proposal for statehood creates a federal district and would give the 3 electoral college votes granted to DC to these residents.
Who are the President and his family? Mostly true, but the assumption is that Congress would abolish the amendment that would grant this power if statehood is achieved.
This is the year that Arlington was retro-ceded from the District of Columbia to Virginia.
What is 1847?
Paul Strauss and Mike Brown serve the District of Columbia in this capacity. (Bonus Points: What are their official duties?)
Who are DC's Shadow Senators? They are non-voting, not sworn in and do not hold a seat in the Senate (or have offices in the Senate buildings for that matter!). So if they can’t vote, what do they do? Push for D.C. to become the 51st state (and, thus, for them to become fully vested members of Congress), mostly.
If the District of Columbia were to become a state, it would be the densest state in the US at 11,685 people/square mile. This state would be move to second place at 1,207 people/square mile.
What is New Jersey?
Yesterday, the Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal related to DC statehood on this subject.
What is "the lack of voting rights for DC citizens."
The justices’ move affirmed a lower court ruling that held that D.C. residents are not entitled to voting representation in the U.S. House.
In a brief unsigned order Monday, the justices indicated their ruling was based on a Supreme Court decision from more than two decades ago that found that Washingtonians do not have a constitutional right to a vote in Congress.
Two of the court’s more conservatives justices — Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch — indicated they would have dismissed the appeal based on their view that the court lacked jurisdiction over the dispute.