The nation’s capital, Washington, DC, has always been denied a voting member of Congress, despite its having the population of a small state, but there was hope in recent years that a compromise would allow a House member, with Utah also gaining an extra congressional seat because of rapid growth.
But the struggle over loosening gun control laws has led to the idea being shelved, denying people in the District the best opportunity in a long time to gain voting rights. Gun rights advocates wanted to loosen the gun laws in a city with a high crime rate, and that ultimately killed the possibility of a voting member in the House of Representatives for Washington, DC.
This is a sad commentary, that the gun advocates could prevent a movement toward democracy, giving DC the same status as a state, but it is nothing new, as a previous DC amendment to make it the state of Columbia failed to pass more than a few state legislatures.
So it will be a continued battle for who knows how many more years before Washington, DC is treated equally with the 50 states! 🙁