Introduction of Democracy Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Introduction of Democracy - Research Paper Example The constitution will  give power to the Congress to grant statehood to the district of Columbia according to this law. The residents of Washington D.C will then have full voting rights in both the houses of Congress (DC statehood). Citizens of Washington D.C should be granted equal voting rights by raising the status of the city to a state. The citizens should be allowed to vote representatives in the house of Congress in the same manner as it is allowed for the citizens of other states of America. This will ensure full voting rights to the residents accordingly as a democratic government is suppose to allow fair and equal voting rights to all its citizens. As the citizens of the city of Washington D.C pay federal taxes, there seem to be no reason of them being deprived of the very basic rule of democracy, that is, the right to vote. Paying federal taxes without being given the right to choose the representative for America is deemed unsatisfactory. Not giving voting rights is sim ilar to their treatment as international residents residing outside of the United States of America. Wade Henderson states, â€Å"The right to vote is fundamental in our democracy† (Leadership Conference on Civil Rights  2002). The Americans have long been striving for their voting rights. Their struggle to acquire voting rights has been a central policy in almost all their civil discussions. Many important laws have been enforced by the Congress regarding this matter over the past years. One such law includes the â€Å"Voting Rights Act of 1965†. Without giving the right to vote, the citizens of Washington D.C are just like spectators in an election. This is indeed unfair as it proves to be biased among the citizens of Washington and other cities; it produces a clear distinction among the citizens. There is no other country in the world which does not give voting rights to its citizens regardless of which ever state or district they belong to. Following the terroris t attacks of 9/11 on the twin towers in the U.S, the importance of the city of Washington was pointed out clearly. The terrorists destroyed the financial centre of the city of New York together with the central government in Washington D.C. Their attacks clearly reflected on all Americans, of every race, religion and color. Americans from around the nation condemned the attacks with utmost generosity for the victims and sadly, Washington D.C also had a share of the victims in the attacks of 9/11. Even after that, the citizens of the city of Washington were granted with no voting representations in the government which they were actually fighting for. To add to it, they were the first ones’ to respond to the Pentagon attack. The occupants of the city duly fulfill all their responsibilities like paying of taxes and services in the armed forces, yet they are deprived of such a basic right and cannot enjoy those privileges of equal voting which residents of other states enjoy. It is time that they should be declared the right to vote and choose their representative. The residents of the District of Columbia pay taxes at the rate of second highest per capita in the United States. Therefore, they should be fully represented in the Congress of America (Henderson. 2002). D.C was not a part of any state by the year 1801. This was in accordance to the  Ã¢â‚¬Å"District of Columbia Organic Act† passed by the Congress that very year. Thus, the District's residents lost the right to give votes and select their representatives. The residents of Washington City were eventually deprived to vote in the president election (American bar Association. 2006). In 1973, the Home Rule Act gave certain powers to the district