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DC Lawmakers Realize License Plate Slogan ‘Ineffective’ To Win Statehood

REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

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Steve Birr Vice Reporter
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Realizing that putting the slogan “taxation without representation” on D.C. license plates has failed to move the District closer to becoming a state, lawmakers are now proposing a new slogan they believe could be more effective: “End taxation without representation.”

“We need a call to action, not a status quo,” D.C. Council member Charles Allen told The Washington Post.

Allen argues the current license plate is failing to inspire change and needs to make a firmer, clearer, statement. By changing it to “End taxation without representation,” Allen says the message becomes clearer, and perfectly coincides with Mayor Muriel Bowser’s renewed push for D.C. statehood. Bowser intends to put the issue to a vote on the ballot in November. (RELATED: Mayor Plans Big Fight With Congress Over DC Statehood)

The current license plate slogan has been around for 16 years, and was created to highlight the fact that D.C. residents pay taxes but aren’t represented by votes in Congress. Currently, Congress governs D.C. and often exerts its will over the city counter to the wishes of the District mayor and D.C. Council.

Allen has the support of 10 other members on the thirteen seat Council. His bill also creates a $51 commemorative plate which reads “We Demand Statehood,” the proceeds going to city efforts to become the 51st state. Allen says at the very least it will send a signal to Congress and help tourists in D.C. to understand their cause, reports NBC Washington.

“Even at the worst, it is symbolic,” Allen told NBC4. “I think it is still meaningful.”

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