When I read the Jan. 6 editorial “Don’t usurp the people’s vote,” it was hard to imagine the awful scenes we would see later that day as rioters attacked the U.S. Capitol. We’ve all seen the footage of them breaking through windows and assaulting police officers. But I wonder how many people realize that the police officers who live in D.C. and risked their lives to protect congress from a violent mob have no voting representation in Congress.
District of Columbia residents pay federal and local taxes, serve in the military and on juries and have all the responsibilities of citizenship, but their license plates read “Taxation Without Representation” because they lack statehood and so do not have voting members of Congress. There has been a debate over whether to pass a bill to admit D.C. as the 51st state to fix this injustice or ignore it. Oddly, Wyoming has gotten drawn into that debate.
D.C. residents note that 712,000 people live there, more than the 582,000 who live here in the Equality State. But Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton, a fervent opponent of D.C. statehood, argued that is not relevant because “Wyoming is a well-rounded, working-class state” and has more people who work “in mining, logging and construction.”
I appreciate the senator’s compliment about our skill set, but I appreciate democracy and equality more. If the 582,000 of us who live in Wyoming deserve statehood, including two senators and a member of the House of Representatives, then so do the 712,000 Americans who live in D.C.
Amy Aronowitz
Jackson