Norton Announces Veterans Day Kickoff of Constituent Comment Effort for Full Democracy
Norton Announces Veterans Day Kick-Off of Constituent Comment Effort to Drive New Struggle for Full D.C. Democracy
November 10, 2010
WASHINGTON, DC - On Thursday, November 11, Veterans Day, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) is asking District residents to gear up for the incoming Congress by honoring the District's veterans and members of the military, who have served their country without voting rights, by visiting her Facebook page to post comments on how to continue the fight for full democracy for the District. Norton will use the resident comments in a variety of ways, including in her official correspondence with members of Congress, her speeches on the House floor, and on other relevant occasions to drive home the passion of residents for full democracy. "Our struggle has never been dependent on who is in charge of the Congress," said Norton. "It is up to our own residents to lead the national fight for rights that are the essence of citizenship itself. The thin slice of the national electorate who vote in midterm elections did not decide our prospects. The 2012 elections will see a full-bodied electorate at the polls. In preparation, we must spend the next two years building on the magnificent momentum created by the fight for voting rights, which garnered the required majorities in both the House and Senate." She said that there could be no better inspiration to continue the struggle than remembering our troops serving abroad today, our residents who have lost their lives serving in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the thousands of our neighbors who served and died for their country. When the 112th Congress convenes, Norton intends to introduce separate bills for statehood, for the House and Senate votes, and for the House as residents have requested.
Norton is inviting residents to continue to post their comments beyond Veterans Day, but suggested that Veterans Day comments posted on Facebook be dedicated to one or more residents who died in Iraq or Afghanistan including, Army Specialist Daryl T. Dent, of the D.C. National Guard, who died in Iraq and was the first resident to die in the Iraq war.
The Congresswoman said that many Americans now know about our Taxation without Representation status, thanks to our license plates and the successful struggle that won majorities for the D.C. House Voting Rights Act. Few realize, however, that District residents have died disproportionately in the nation's wars of the 20th century. In World War I, the District lost more residents than three states; lost more residents in World War II than four states; lost more residents in the Korean War than eight states; and lost more residents in the Vietnam War than ten states.
Norton said, "Our most recent veterans who have served and who gave their lives in Afghanistan and Iraq were members of the first all-volunteer military to serve in a war. They offered to serve when most Americans no longer chose to enter our military. The decision of D.C. residents to voluntarily risk their lives for their country without a vote leaves the American people with a debt that can never be repaid. A vote for their hometown to recognize the sacrifice they have made for their country is overdue."