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by Skidiver on March 16th, 2008

Skidiver

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Should Washington DC become a state

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  • by DebraG on March 17th, 2008

    DebraG

    Article I, Section 8 of the United States Constitution provides:

    "The Congress shall have power . . .

    To exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten miles square) as may, by cession of particular states, and the acceptance of Congress, become the seat of the government of the United States...."

    Because Washington DC is the seat of the federal government under the exclusive control of our federal legislative branch pursuant to the supreme law of the land, it cannot be made into a state.

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  • by snakebarber on January 11th, 2009

    snakebarber

    They should really just be annexed by a surrounding state like Virginia or Maryland.

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  • by land1660 on January 11th, 2009

    land1660

    yes because if wasthington d.c. is not a state then it is hard on them. if you lived there you would have to have everything voted by congress and since they are not a state they cant have represnitives vote on their behalf. how fair is that? isnt that why we left england so everybody is equal. and yet they dont get a right to vote for new laws and such.

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  • by jimmmy on November 16th, 2008

    jimmmy

    Sure, why not. If America wants it to be a state we should make it a state. Isn't this a free country!?

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  • by Kevin I. Banks on August 12th, 2008

    Kevin I. Banks

    No, Washington, D.C. should not become our 51st state, if it were intended then the founding fathers would have made that abundantly clear but instead annexed land for the sole purpose of housing the seat of our national government. Article 1, section 8, clause 17 states “To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by Cession of particular States, and the acceptance of Congress, become the Seat of the Government of the United States, and to exercise like Authority over all Places purchased by the Consent of the Legislature of the State in which the Same shall be, for the Erection of Forts, Magazines, Arsenals, dock-Yards, and other needful Buildings; And To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof.” To make D.C. a state would remove it from the geographically neutral role that it currently holds. I think the solution that historian John Steele’s proposal would be the fairest. This proposal suggests that residents of Washington D.C. vote and obtain representation as if they lived in Maryland. This is partly because in order to construct the District of Columbia a percentage of land was annexed from both Maryland and Virginia. Virginia’s land was returned however because it was not needed. Washington, D.C. is already granted one at-large, but non-voting Representative in the House of Representatives; residents can vote in the Presidential Elections, and Washington, D.C. has three electoral votes. At the root of the movement for Washington, D.C., statehood is their lack of voting representation in the House of Representatives. Also, and understandably, the prospect of two additional Senators (most likely Democrat - 61% of Washington, D.C.'s population is black), would be a political gain for the party who won the seats. This would probably give Maryland one additional representative in the House of Representatives, and provide representation for people who should have been represented in the first place. The solution is not statehood for the District of Columbia. It is to find a way to enfranchise the Americans living there.

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