We got fooled again. Just as it seemed that Congress would pass the D.C. Voting Rights Act, which would give Washington a voting delegate in the House of Representatives, D.C.’s non-voting delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (D) decided not to introduce the legislation this week.
Norton has a good reason to avoid bringing the bill to the floor of Congress in its current form. The Senate version contains an amendment that would strip the city of its strict gun-control laws, leaving in place only the relatively permissive federal laws. The House version was expected to impose even weaker language. A recent drive-by shooting using an AK-47-style assault rifle, a 9mm handgun, and a .45-caliber pistol in the Washington Highlands neighborhood in Southeast Washington, in which four died and five were wounded, demonstrates the risks of allowing these weapons to circulate freely in Washington.
The amount of opposition the gun amendment provoked in the city government surely put Norton in a difficult position.
“After seeing the images from grieving parents of their children riddled with bullets from an AK-47 at yesterday’s hearing on the South Capitol Street shootings, I could never support a compromise for fundamental voting rights and representation by making assault weapons legal on our streets and giving up local control of the city’s gun laws,” Councilmember Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6) said in a press release, while Councilmember Mary Cheh (D-Ward 3) circulated a petition against the bill.
While the virtues of compromising on gun-control laws in exchange for voting rights remain debatable, some blame for the bill’s continued stagnation in congressional purgatory belongs to Norton.
While Norton tends to be treated as a beloved institution in Washington, it is hard to understand lately why she deserves such deference and respect. From the late 1990s imposition of the D.C. financial control board to today’s push for voting rights, Norton has routinely failed to turn what little power she possesses into progress for Washington. Now, she can’t even get voting rights passed—even though Democrats control both houses of Congress and the White House.
I wonder if Eleanor Holmes Norton has lost sight of the bigger picture after 20 years of service. The goal is not getting her a vote in the full House. The goal is — or should be — the same representation in Congress as every other federal-income-tax-paying citizen. That means 1 vote in the House (based on our population) and 2 votes in the Senate.
It is only with FULL representaton that we will be able to prevent excessive meddling in our ability to enact our own local laws, a right and privilege granted to every other jurisdiction in the nation.
Despite my admiration for Delegate Norton’s service to the District and the nation, perhaps it is time to look to new energy to represent us in Congress. Maybe it is time to look to a viable challenger — only the second in Delegate Norton’s 20 years of service — like Doug Sloan. Take a look at Doug’s background and positions here: http://www.dougsloan2010.com.