Norton & Voting Rights Advocates Re-Grouping on Next Steps (6/9/09)
Norton and Voting Rights Advocates Re-Grouping on Next Steps
June 9, 2009
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Office of Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) reported today that despite months of work by the Congresswoman and Democratic leaders to eliminate the Ensign gun amendment from the D.C. voting rights bill, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer confirmed today that the House does not have the votes for a clean voting rights bill as of now and the city is split on an attachment to the bill that eliminates both the District's gun laws and the city's authority over gun legislation. Norton said she was grateful for the considerable effort the Majority Leader has put into setting a clean bill. Most residents oppose a gun amendment on the D.C. House Voting Rights Act or on any other bill. "We will never give up on equal rights for our residents," Norton said, but after discussions with the major voting rights advocates who could be reached and who have worked hardest for the bill, the agreement was reached that the bill should not move at this time.
Despite her overriding priority for voting rights, Norton believed she had an obligation to expose the unusual public safety dangers posed by the Ensign amendment to eliminate its passage. She held two hearings and alerted high level administration officials and her colleagues to the homeland security dangers of the amendment and asked for their assistance. As of today, however, she said she was disappointed that she has received no help from the administration and believed that many pro-gun Democrats could have supported the Voting Rights bill without political damage to themselves.
The Congresswoman, who has often found compromises on tough bills, considered compromises on the gun attachment, but could not find one that eliminated or mitigated the Ensign Amendment. Norton's disappointment was especially deep because she has worked for the vote ever since being elected to Congress in 1990, and she wanted the bill on the floor in June. However, she said that "as everyone regroups, giving up is not an option."