Norton Says D.C. Residents Will Rally for Their Rights on Saturday As a Living Memorial to Dr. King’s Unfulfilled Dream for Full Equality Here
WASHINGTON, DC – Fresh off a major home-rule victory, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) will speak at the D.C. Full Democracy and Freedom Rally tomorrow, October 15, at 9:30 a.m. at Freedom Plaza, 14th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW, one day before the dedication of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial on the National Mall. The D.C. rally and march comes during a week when the Congresswoman won a significant victory in the House Judiciary Committee after a D.C. gun amendment offered by Representative Louie Gohmert (R-TX), which would have allowed people with state-issued concealed carry permits to carry concealed guns in the District of Columbia, notwithstanding the District's prohibition on carrying concealed weapons, failed by a vote of 3-24. Norton said, "Saturday's rally and march is about our unrealized dream for democracy and statehood for District residents, who long after Dr. King's triumphant victories for the nation, must still fight for the freedom that other Americans take for granted. As significant as Sunday will be to commemorate the contributions of a great American, Saturday will be D.C.'s day of recommitment to the idea that what Dr. King's life has done for our country, we and our fellow Americans must still do for the residents of the nation's capital." This year alone, Norton has waged major struggles in the House for the city's vote in the Committee of the Whole, to protect the city's gun safety legislation, budget autonomy, and an appropriations bill free of riders that interfere with the District's home rule.
This week, Norton also sent a letter to Senate Democratic leaders, urging them to continue to protect the District's right to self-government in the final fiscal year 2012 D.C. appropriations bill. The Senate Appropriations Committee recently approved a fiscal year 2012 D.C. Appropriations bill that was free of all anti-home-rule riders. The House Appropriations Committee-passed D.C. Appropriations bill would prohibit the District from spending its local funds on abortion services for low-income women.
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