| Dear Phillip:
It's been a busy few weeks! Two weeks ago, the U.S. Senate passed the DC House Voting Rights Act (H.R.157/S.160) and last week, the U.S. House had anticipated a vote on the bill. Instead, the bill is stalled thanks to controversy over a gun amendment that would repeal DC's gun laws. We are confident that we will see a victory soon. To that end, DC Vote remains committed to passing the DC Voting Rights Act and is working tirelessly to urge members of Congress to reject all harmful amendments. We have been very demanding of you over the past few weeks, and your response has been tremendous. We will continue to ask for your help, but for now, we have some inspiring stories to share from these historic weeks - Thanks to you!
- More than 4,000 people in one day called the Senate to urge their support for the bill. DC residents made a real difference with their calls to Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) who, at 4:30 PM on the call-in day, decided to co-sponsor the bill!
- In just eight hours, more than 1,200 of you wrote your members of Congress, urging them to support a "clean" bill, free of harmful amendments.
- Nearly 50 members responded to our request for donations for the call-in day, contributing a total of $2500. This grassroots support energizes us to keep fighting for the end of taxation without representation.
- More than 30 Board members, funders, coalition partners and volunteers came to the Senate to watch the floor vote. As senators mingled below, DC residents kept a close eye on who voted and how.
In response to the recent attacks on DC democracy, perhaps one of DC Vote's newest members said it best: We must make it clear� that our voting rights cannot be conditioned on gun ownership legislation. It is just wrong! Those people do not live here. They are not subject to the day-to-day tension that exists relative to crimes that are committed with guns.
They have no business trying to make our voting rights grist for the gun ownership mill. We must fight any attempt to make that happen, and keep our voting rights clean from gun ownership pollution.
- Terry Hart Lee, Washington, DC
We're doing everything we can to make sure that Terry and all DC residents are given a clean bill free of harmful amendments. And, we'll continue to call on supporters like you to make the critical difference. Thank you for everything you have done and for everything you will do. Sincerely,
Ilir Zherka P.S. Check out the incredible amount of media coverage on this issue, including a piece from NPR, "Gun Amendment Threatens D.C. Voting Bill" featuring our own Eugene Dewitt Kinlow! | |
