Compromise of home rule was the last straw for D.C.

D.C. leaders and residents determined, rightly, that if no one would fight for them, they had no recourse but to fight for themselves. DC Vote quickly organized a protest with our partners in the D.C. Voting Rights Coalition, the mayor’s office and the D.C. Council. From Friday night’s budget deal to our demonstration Monday was a quick turn around, but people were ready. They’ve had enough.

So when Mayor Gray, D.C. Council Chairman Kwame Brown, five members of the D.C. Council and I stepped into the street in protest on April 11, thirty-five D.C. residents came with us in defiance of the Capitol Police. Hundreds more cheered us on, chanting, “What do we want? Democracy! When do we want it? Now!”

At issue in the federal budget negotiation was the D.C. government’s ability to cover abortion services through the locally-funded Medicaid program for low-income residents, but it is only the latest cultural tug-of-war waged over the District’s non-federally funded programs. Subject to congressional oversight yet denied representation in Congress, D.C. residents are powerless to defend themselves when caught in the crossfire of ideological battles politicians are not ready to wage on the national stage, but want to posture and experiment within the federal District.

Too few Americans, including members of Congress, appreciate that regular working Americans’ lives are at stake – quite literally when health programs such as AIDS prevention are restricted. And this is not a handful of unfortunate citizens – D.C. is over 600,000 strong, more populous than the state of Wyoming, which is represented by two Senators and a member of the House.

No matter where you fall on the social issues, no matter what you think of the District of Columbia’s constitutional origins, you simply cannot deny that Americans in the District are unequal, and that is not right. It must be resolved.

D.C.’s fight for equal citizenship has risen to a new level, led by its elected officials. This month’s protests will not be an isolated occurrence. Already two protests have followed, and more will come. With regular pressure, both our friends and opponents will no longer be able to ignore D.C.’s cry for equality. We may have no voting power in Congress and limited power locally, but we do have the power of the people, and it has been awakened.

Ilir Zherka is the executive director of DC Vote.