Revised DC Statehood Petition is Now On Line
The DC Statehood Green Party
http://www.dcstatehoodgreen.org
Contact:
Scott McLarty, DC Statehood Green Party Media
Coordinator, 202-518-5624, mclarty@greens.org
January 15, 2007
Released January 12
DC Statehood Green Party encourages U.S. citizens and people around the world to sign on
in support of democracy for D.C.; The petition will be presented to U.N.
committees
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The DC Statehood Green Party's 'DC Statehood Now' petition has been
updated and placed at <http://www.dcstatehoodgreen.org/statehoodnow/>.
"We encourage all citizens of the U.S. and other nations who value democracy, equality, and human
rights to sign the petition," said Rene Bowser, who has established an exploratory committee for
a run in the Ward 4 special election on May 1, 2007 for D.C. Council <http://reneebowser.com/>.
"Statehood for the District of Columbia would end Congress's antidemocratic power to impose
unwanted laws and policies and to veto locally enacted laws. It would also provide D.C.
residents with full voting representation in Congress: one seat in the U.S. House and two in
the U.S. Senate."
"Statehood would give D.C.'s majority African American population self-determination,
self-government, and full citizenship that we deserve -- and which all other citizens of the
United States of America take for granted," Ms. Bowser added. "It's time to end the District's
status as 'the last colony' and 'the last plantation.'"
The D.C. Statehood Green Party and Stand Up for Democracy in D.C. Coalition
<http://www.standupfordemocracy.org>
will present the petition to the U.N. Committee on Human Rights and the U.N. Committee on the Elimination
of Racial Discrimination. Both Committees monitor compliance with treaties that the U.S.
government has signed and ratified.
On July 28, 2006, the U.N. Human Rights Committee found that the District of Columbia's lack of
voting representation in Congress violated the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights, a treaty ratified by more than 160 countries, including the U.S. The ruling was a
result of a decade of work by Tim Cooper that focused on the denial of District
residents' political rights.
The petition was drafted by Statehood Green Party members David Schwartzman, Dean Murville, Crystal
Sylvia, Arturo Griffiths, and Jay Marx.
The DC Statehood Green Party does not support the Davis bill, which would provide only a single
voting seat for D.C. in the U.S. House rather than one House seat and two Senate seats. The
party has called the Davis bill a trap that would backfire against those who support full democracy
and citizenship for District residents. Statehood Green Party members agreed
with D.C. democracy activists who have called the bill an affront that establishes 'one third citizenship'
for District residents, since all other Americans enjoy three voting seats (one Representative, two
Senators) in Congress. Statehood Greens have promoted a plan to win statehood based on
precedent 1846 legislation that transferred part of D.C. (Arlington) to
Virginia.
MORE INFORMATION
The DC Statehood Green Party
http://www.dcstatehoodgreen.org