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Sign the Petition to Congress:
Tell your Legislators you support statehood for the people of Washington, D.C.! 

The people of Washington, D.C. deserve the same rights as Americans living in the 50 states. They want full voting representation in the U.S. Congress and an end to Congressional interference in their local government. To resolve this, D.C. should become the 51st state, formed from the residential and commercial areas of the District of Columbia, and preserving a smaller federal district as the nation's capital.

We Unitarian Universalists are committed to helping D.C. residents end taxation without representation as a matter of democratic principle. In 1962 we called for Self-Government for D.C. Then we sided with free speech, a pluralistic democracy, and voting rights for communities of color. In 2019 we declared support for "universal voting rights." In 2021 we enumerated the circumstance in D.C as a matter of voter suppression. Now, during 2024, the Reeb Voting Rights Project, All Souls Church, Unitarian in Washington D.C., has renewed a call for assistance from Unitarian Universalists nationwide on the matters of voter suppression, and disenfranchisement of D.C. residents.

Tell Congress: I believe all the U.S. citizens, resident to D.C., have the right to full representation in Congress and self-government. Therefore, I support HR 51 and S 51 for D.C. to become the 51st state. I support universal voting rights!

(Submit your information/signature below)

We know, in the case of D.C., a population greater than Vermont and Wyoming has been systematically disenfranchised for generations through insufficient and inadequate representation in Congress, and particularly in the Senate.  D.C. Mayor Murial Bowser has pointed to an egregious and shameful history of racial injustice as one driver for this circumstance testifying “Historic records are replete with statements of successive members of Congress referencing the ‘negro problem’ and the ‘color problem’ within D.C. as a justification to withhold Congressional representation.” This matter is therefore also a racial justice issue. (See video of her 2021 testimony before the House Committee on Oversight and Reforms.)

The League of Women Voters and the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, have come out in support of statehood for D.C., among many other voting rights organizations.

UU Grounding:

As of General Assembly 2024, we Unitarian Universalists have agreed to “adopt new language on core religious values.” We agree love is the power that holds us together and is at the center of our shared values. The values we share include all the following, which we hold as inseparable and deeply interconnected: Interdependence, Pluralism, Justice, Transformation, Generosity, and Equity. Read more on the Article II revision process.

See further details on grounding plus explanatory background materials below.

UU Grounding, Continued:

With our agreed core religious values in mind: Interdependence, Pluralism, Justice, Transformation, Generosity, and Equity, we also ground our call for action--signature of this petition--in support of a healthy democracy and specifically in the following Unitarian Universalist Statements:

• Stop Voter Suppression and Partner for Voting Rights and a Multiracial Democracy, 2021 AIW, which mentions the Washington, D.C. Admission Act.
• Undoing Systemic White Supremacy: A Call to Prophetic Action, 2021 SOC, which asks us to "engage with the movement, in our communities and nation, to heal the evil of racism," and "build relationships across boundaries of privilege and oppression."
• Our Democracy Uncorrupted, 2019 SOC, which underscores that our democratic government should include “universal voting rights that lead to and encourage higher voter participation rates.”
• Oppose Citizens United—Support Free Speech for People, 2011 AIW
• Moral Values for a Pluralistic Society, 2007 SOC
• Voting Rights for Communities of Color, 2007 RR
• Self-Government for the District of Columbia, 1962 GR

Articles & Posts:

• DC Statehood Explained, Brennan Center for Justice
• Your All-Purpose Wonk’s Guide to Why D.C. Statehood Is So Hard, Politico
• Statehood Stories: Why Statehood Matters for DC's nearly 700,000 Residents, the Washington, D.C. League of Women Voters (LWVDC)
• Don’t Fall for the D.C. Retrocession ‘Okey-Doke’, The Atlantic
• 50 Years Of Home Rule: Activists Say Statehood Is Only Way To Secure Full D.C. Voting Rights, DCist
• Clergy call for D.C. statehood to give voting representation to its residents, UCC
• House committee approves DC statehood bill, The Hill
• DC statehood bill passes House, but Senate hopes are dim, Roll Call
• Marylanders narrowly favor D.C. statehood, unlike Americans overall, according to Post-U. Md. poll, Washington Post
• Statehood in Congress, and A Partisan History of Reform, as well as Statehood History by the DC Statehood Coalition
• DC Statehood Is a Civil Rights Issue and Civil Rights Community Letter to President Biden on Voting Rights and DC Statehood Legislation, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights

Periodicals:

• District of Columbia Voting Representation in Congress: Overview of Proposals, In Focus 11443, Congressional Research Service
• Governing the District of Columbia: Overview and Timeline, In Focus 12577, Congressional Research Service
• DC Statehood: Constitutional Considerations for Proposed Legislation, Report 47101, Congressional Research Service
• Delegates to the U.S. Congress: History and Current Status, Report 40555, Congressional Research Service
• Parliamentary Rights of the Delegates and Resident Commissioner from Puerto Rico, CRS Report 40170, Congressional Research Service