But I still hope it gets overturned, because I think we learned our lesson now. Alas, I am very afraid that all of the celebrating commentors here are jinxing it. How do you reverse a jinx?

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As for how you reverse a jinx? I'll ask the old superstitious ladies at my old church: they're really good with that sorta thing ;-)

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Yeah, because that's always super feasible for everyone. Because we shouldn't try to change things at all. Just like women weren't supposed to vote, and black people weren't supposed to be fully human. The way things were intended to be is the way they should be dealt with 200 plus years later.

DC's voting issues are a lot more complex than how DC was intended to function. There are other constitutional issues at hand here, such as taxation, representation, the definition of the "several states," and the fact that Congress has control over DC.

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Let me explain something to you: When you live in Texas, the state has the right to make laws that cannot be reviewed or challenged by the federal government, because there of constitutionally mandated "States Rights" that keep the federal government from becoming an all-powerful, all-controlling dictatorship, like the monarchies in England we were escaping in the first place. I'm sure you're familiar with the concept. So when you live in Texas, Texas makes to get decisions for itself, and you get to vote on those decisions. So you don't like the way other people vote, and you move to somewhere more like-minded, like Vermont, where you vote with people who agree with you and thngs happen that you like and agree with and make your life better.

Now, people have lived in DC for a LONG time. From after the Civil War on out, basically. But those people have never been able to decide anything about their lives, their communities, and the city they LOVE without federal review. And that, pain and simple, is complete bullshit. DC residents pay higher taxes than most of the country, are subject to harsher penalities and fines when caught committing a crime. And by "crime" I mean everything from murder to a parking violation. It has a larger population than some states, but NO Senator, ONE non-voting congresswoman, and ONE electoral vote. And your answer to that is "move"?

If you're not into the idea of an autonomous DC, why the hell do you even live here?

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The constitutional issues all stem from the way DC was intended to function. It's the national capital. It's a much bigger issue than just changing it's name and throwing a few delegates at it.

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My apologies to you, your fellow Mississippians (wow, that's one hell of a word), and potentially to you representation as well, although I don't exactly have the impression they're pro-gay rights. Am I wrong? (I really hope the answer is yes, that would be awesome).

And here's the link: [jezebel.com]

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Ps-I minored in PoliSci, please don't explain to me what I learned in middle school Social Studies.

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It's not a matter of changing the name (which, in some of the proposed Home Rule plans would stay exactly the same), and it's definitly not a matter of "throwing a few delagates at it." It's a matter of granting AMERICAN CITIZENS their full rights due under their citizenship, and not witholding them because they LIVE SOMEWHERE.

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Vatican City is not a correlary of DC. It's a religious institution, and the citizens of ROME are not denied their rights because they live in the capital.

The District of Columbia has been a residential city for over 100 years. Whether or not you like that, it's still a fact. And, as has been pointed out, there are roughly 600,000 residents here who pay federal taxes and get no representation in government, and have no way to enact the initiatives they want to for their own betterment -- not just gay marriage, but FIXING POTHOLES.

And there's an oh-so-simple (fuck you) solution to this fight: if you don't like people trying to have a say, as constitutionally granted to them, over their own lives in city that is part of a country that is a democracy... MOVE.

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[consumerist.com]

I'm actually not against DC statehood. As a democrat obviously it would be beneficial to me personally even though I now reside in Maryland. But telling someone from DC with their taxation without representation license plates nonsense to just move has always been a dream of mine.

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That is one of the most disgusting things I've ever read in these comments.

Though you still haven't fulfilled it - I live in Bethesda, and my plates are Maryland plates.

It's nice to know you have respet for your fellow Americans.

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THOSE people deserve their rights. THOSE people -- people who live here not because of an election, but because it's home -- are the ones who deserve home rule most of all.

And it's those people you're offending the most when you tell them to "move."

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Also, I'm rather sure we're a republic. Not a democracy. We vote for the leaders, they decide the issues.

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Just because people have the OPTION to leave doesn't mean that a fundamental flaw in the voting rights of American Citizens shouldn't be corrected. And by telling people not to complain, you are essentially OKing that restriction of rights, whether you theoretically support a change or not.

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Pardon me... I have something in my eye... ~sniff~

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