Snow Threat Postpones D.C. Statehood Mission To New Hampshire

Snow Threat Postpones D.C. Statehood Mission

WASHINGTON -- This week's pro-statehood delegation trip to New Hampshire by members of the District of Columbia government has been postponed due to the threat of inclement winter weather.

While it's not uncommon for there to be jokes about D.C.'s inability to deal with snow, the source of the winter-weather caution actually came from New Hampshire.

The speaker of the state's House of Representatives canceled all official business for Thursday, when D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray and members of the D.C. Council were scheduled to testify before Granite State lawmakers about statehood for the nation's capital.

Advocates of expanded voting representation for D.C. want to gin up support in state capitals and New Hampshire legislators are considering a resolution supporting the statehood cause, which would put the nation's capital on equal footing with the 50 states in the halls of Congress.

D.C. has one non-voting delegate in the U.S. House of Representatives. Statehood activists would like the nation's capital to become New Columbia, the 51st in the Union.

D.C. Councilmember Michael A. Brown (I-At Large), part of the delegation, tweeted Thursday afternoon that the delay won't dampen D.C.'s resolve for equal representation:

The Washington Post's Tim Craig noted Wednesday afternoon that members of the delegation and some journalists aren't getting refunds on airfare from Southwest airlines. He also griped:

Meanwhile, as Washington City Paper reports, Occupy DC protester Adrian Parsons -- who had been recently engaged in a hunger strike for D.C. voting rights -- left for New Hampshire a few days ago and was "[s]crambling to meet the author of the DC voting rights resolution," according to a text message dispatched en route on Interstate 93.

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