House passes bill to make Washington DC the 51st state

originally posted by: Bigbrooklyn
D.C is a sovereign city belonging to no one...much like the Vatican doesnt belong to Rome/Italy..a reply to: SolAquarius

It most certainly isn’t. That would mean that Washington DC is an independent country. Which it quite clearly is not.

It would be a strange state of affairs indeed for the government of the United States to govern America from the confines of a separate country.

I remember when President Trump shut-down D.C. for almost 2 months....and most of America didn't miss it, or even care.

These cities are corporations...DC...The Vatican...City of London.. Military...financial..spiritual centers. Sovereign meaning they belong to no one but the powers that be. All three cities have the Obelisk in common giving it a more sinister purpose..a reply to: Ohanka

originally posted by: Bigbrooklyn
These cities are corporations...DC...The Vatican...City of London.. Military...financial..spiritual centers. Sovereign meaning they belong to no one but the powers that be. All three cities have the Obelisk in common giving it a more sinister purpose..a reply to: Ohanka

Oh do tell I like myself a good 3 cities of the empire conspiracy rabbit hole .

originally posted by: SolAquarius
a reply to: yuppa

Ok could you give me a quick civics lesson here.

Are you basically saying that if DC wanted to be a state it would require a constitutional convention and an amendment.

If that is the case then it makes the whole gesture with the bill seem even more pointless.

Though Im sure the house majority doesn't care much about the constitution.

yes you are correct. they would have to repeal the 23rd amendment.

Pardon my ignorance but does this mean as well as Washington (State) there would also be Washington DC (State)?

Apologies if this has been answered in the thread, gonna read on now...

a reply to: djz3ro

Pardon my ignorance but does this mean as well as Washington (State) there would also be Washington DC (State)?

not sure if i understand your question, but i think your asking if if Washington state in included in this bill.

if so Washington state is already a state, Washington DC is not it is a District that falls under Federal Government.
It's mayor and city council get their power through the Legislative Branch/ Congress of the U.S., and the laws they pass are subject to review of congress and can be over turned by them. where as in a state, for a law to be over turned by the Federal government, a suit must be brought before the Supreme Court of United States and ruled unconstitutional, or the state it's self. the government of DC is actually a Federal agency.

DC government is also like a state government. Mayor is the executive branch, city council the state legislative branch, district of columbia court of appeals is like the state state supreme court.

the really big difference is that DC is not a sovereign entity like the other states. where Congress can rule that laws can't be passed or overturn them.

Its obvious you no grasp for the obvious..a reply to: SolAquarius

a reply to: hounddoghowlie

Thanks for attempting to understand. I mean if Washington DC is a state, what name will it use since there is already a state called Washington?

a reply to: djz3ro

Thanks for attempting to understand. I mean if Washington DC is a state, what name will it use since there is already a state called Washington?

i tried.

i would think it would still be called Washington DC. we have North Carolina and South Carolina, North Dakota and South Dakota, West Virginia and Virginia. so don't think there would be a problem.

originally posted by: DontTreadOnMe
LOL
I guess Congress forgot that THEY don't start the process!!!!
First step is for the proposed state to vote on the issue.
Actually, looks like the skipped the first 3 steps!!!
politics.stackexchange.com...#:~:text=The%20propos ed%20state%20officially%20petitions%20Congress%20for%20Statehood.,accept%20the%20state.%20The%20president%20signs%20the%20bill.

They did, with the DC statehood referendum that overwhelmingly passed in 2016.

Now Congress takes it up.

originally posted by: djz3ro
Pardon my ignorance but does this mean as well as Washington (State) there would also be Washington DC (State)?

Apologies if this has been answered in the thread, gonna read on now...

It means the District of Columbia (Washington DC) would be a state.

originally posted by: Liquesence

originally posted by: DontTreadOnMe
LOL
I guess Congress forgot that THEY don't start the process!!!!
First step is for the proposed state to vote on the issue.
Actually, looks like the skipped the first 3 steps!!!
politics.stackexchange.com...#:~:text=The%20propos ed%20state%20officially%20petitions%20Congress%20for%20Statehood.,accept%20the%20state.%20The%20president%20signs%20the%20bill.

They did, with the DC statehood referendum that overwhelmingly passed in 2016.

Now Congress takes it up.

So, they just skipped #2 and #3???

When did they petition Congress, and seems they are not following the Constitution if they are allowing riots and breaking the law with statue toppling.

It seems the only thing congress has been focused on is nonsense bills that have no chance of passing. They remind me of grade school kids asking silly questions to keep from doing any more work until the recess bell rings.

originally posted by: SolAquarius

originally posted by: scraedtosleep
a reply to: SolAquarius

Not a big believer in the old , no taxation without representation idea , are you.

Maybe in the case of DC a compromise such as no taxation and no representation.

That would be more constitutional then what they are getting now.

Do you not agree that being taxed without being allowed to vote is wrong?

a reply to: yuppa


I know I'm off topic.

I'm not arguing that the way congress did this was legal. Clearly it was not.

I'm asking the members of ats if they think being taxed without being allowed to vote is right?
Is this how we want our citizens to be treated in this country?

Should every tax paying citizen be allowed to vote or not?
Should we change the law that is stopping them from voting?

a reply to: Liquesence
Except that there is a widely held belief that D.C. doesn't even have the legal standing to have a statehood referendum.
DC was carved out of two states, Maryland, and Virginia.
Congress does not have power to turn DC into a separate territory.
If Congress were to redraw the boundaries of DC to only include the thin area of Federal Government centers, then many scholars argue that the new boundaries would revert back to the states from which DC would have originated from.
Then those states must give consent for the new territory to be enacted from their boundaries.
Some may think that is automatic, but they're fools
Many Dems in those state houses would see the additional population gained as more Federal Tax dollars flowing into their states,besides the added Congressional seat and Electoral vote.

So for D.C. to actually become a state it would almost certainly have to happen in this order...
1. Congress redraws the boundaries of The Federal District
2. Surveying and census measures would need to take place
3. Once that occurs there would in fact be two new separate cities. One residing in Maryland and one in Virginia
4. Those new cities would need to form their own governments and hold elections.
5. Both cities must vote to join together and ask for statehood
6. Both states must agree to this through legislation.


Only after all of that can Congress entertain the notion of D.C. becoming a separate state, whatever it would be called.

Plus, as mentioned earlier, the 23rd Amendment must then be repealed.

But this opens up a new can of worms
If Maryland and Virginia can allow a city to secede and form it's own state, what stops a state like Florida, which holds a republican majority, and has the largest GOP run city in the land, Jacksonville, from doing the same?
Jacksonville does have a larger population than DC, so why couldn't be it's own state?
Plus, DC could not even claim no representation, as the citizens would have both Congressional and Senatorial representation.

Congress has given us many stupid pieces of legislation over the years, but this has to be amongst the stupidest

Only if the same bill splits up California and New York into multiple states.

originally posted by: Arizonaguy
3. Once that occurs there would in fact be two new separate cities. One residing in Maryland and one in Virginia

Virginia's contribution to the current Washington DC is .19 sq mi of uninhabited Columbia Island.

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

That's correct
Still many argue that retrocession must occur, regardless of popular opinion
And the main points still stand
Besides, over the last 20 years many attempts have been made to remedy the situation, including a proposal to repeal the 23rd and grant DC a voting Congressional representative
Every one has been # down by Democrats
Simply because of their dishonesty
They don't want D.C. citizens to be represented
They want two new Democrats in Senate seats