Washington DC law question

Status
Not open for further replies.
T

twoblink

Member
Joined
Dec 22, 2002
Messages
3,736
Location
Houston, Texas
OK, I know some states have the RKBA in the state constitution.. And some states (PRK :barf: ) don't..

What about DC? DC has always been a place of mystery to me, it's like fried Ocra, it's all things to all people but yet it's nothing.. (except crime infested, and I'm not even talking about the criminals only, the politicians)

There's no "DC Constitution" right? Or is there? And what rights do the "citizens" of DC have? Are they even citizens as they are stateless??

:confused:
 
DC is a unique case: It is a federal district, and most specifically not a state.

Congress has full constitutional authority to legislate for the district, but I believe they delegate certain functions to the equivalent of city government.

People who were born/live in the district do NOT have the usual dual citizenship that most Americans have: that of the their home/birth state, and that of the fedgov.

(I _think_ that you can always claim citizenship of the state you were born in, if all else fails)
 
Is there any advantage to being born a citizen of a state? Does any state require that gubernatorial candidates are born a citizen of that state? I doubt it. Is there any other disability they might suffer other than being ineligible for a state governorship? A D.C.-born citizen who later moves to a State quickly becomes a naturalized citizen of that state.

Or is this just a hypothetical, "if the federal government disintegrates, do D.C. residents have a sovereign territory where they can claim asylum?" I think there are enough people in D.C. to create their own constitution and government in that situation, and I'm sure Maryland would be happy to offer asylum to any D.C. resident. Virginia might reject a few, though. :)
 
Some jackoff politicians from California and the midwest were proposing bills to have D.C. reabsorbed into Maryland.

What a SNAFU that would be for us Marylanders.....more debt, more welfare leeches, more mindless sheeple voting liberal, and existing DC laws to influence Maryland laws.

No thank you.
 
Was gonna say, if DC got absorbed into Maryland, the land wouldn't be so merry anymore..

The NH state constitution guarantees the right to revolt.. That's something the DC'ers are missing out on...

Right to keep and bear arms are guaranteed at the state level for some states, something else missing for DC'ers..
 
The NH state constitution guarantees the right to revolt..
Click to expand...
If true that is a pretty interesting right to put into a state constitution.

Any NH folks out there wanna comment...

Maybe post the relevant portion of the NH constitution granting you the right to revolt.

What is the scope of the right?

Inquiring minds want to know!
 
DC has a Mayor and City Council, School Board, etc., but the over all ruling body is the Congress. DC has a non-voting Congresscritter. DC is a Federal enclave. Maryland contributed to the 10 square miles that make up DC.

DC has the powers of taxation on its citizens and Congress contributes to the DC Gov't budget too.

DC license plates can be acquired frorm the DC Gov't that say, "Taxation Without Representation".

Most gun rights were abrogated in 1976. DC has probably the most restrictive gun laws in the nation, with mandatory registration of existing firearms. I think they even require ammo to be registered.

DC often vies annually with the rest of the nation as the murder capital of the nation, coming in at one, or two, or three with murders per capita. DC is also the home of 21 law enforcement agencies. DC is about 70% black.

DC has less that 500,000 citizens with a 3600 man Metropolitan police department. Parts of DC are beautiful, especially at night. Some parts of DC you could not pay me enough to go into.
 
moa summed it up nicely. There is usually a scandal each week, or in good times, daily, involving the DC government. Credit cards used by city employees to purchase cars and vacations. Mayor's response - We're not going to take away the credit cards (Because our Purchasing folks are too incompetent to purchase anything in less than a year at a grossly inflated price with a nice kickback?). Of course, there is rarely any disciplinary action taken - forget termination without benefits or having to pay back any stolen money. The city government is a joke.

I feel better now - glad you asked the question.
 
http://www.state.nh.us/constitution/constitution.html

http://www.state.nh.us/constitution/billofrights.html

[Art.] 10. [Right of Revolution.] Government being instituted for the common benefit, protection, and security, of the whole community, and not for the private interest or emolument of any one man, family, or class of men; therefore, whenever the ends of government are perverted, and public liberty manifestly endangered, and all other means of redress are ineffectual, the people may, and of right ought to reform the old, or establish a new government. The doctrine of nonresistance ag ainst arbitrary power, and oppression, is absurd, slavish, and destructive of the good and happiness of mankind.

June 2, 1784
Click to expand...

Good times...
 
I think Congress should return what's left of D.C. to Maryland. There is certainly prededent for it. Remember, D.C. started out as a square and included some of Virginia. JT

"By an act of Congress, the area south of the Potomac (about 39 square miles) was returned to Virginia on July 9, 1846 and now is incorporated in Arlington County and a part of the City of Alexandria."

- from some encyclopedia site
 
According the mapquest, DC limits are about 10 feet from the end of the tourist docks in Alexandria, near where I work.

Note to self: Do NOT escape from criminals/terrorists via water if armed. :neener:
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top