You can say many things about Metrobuses. And now you can say one more thing. But hey, at least it's a good thing that Metro stations have bathrooms. more ›

Mayor Vince Gray and members of the D.C. Council are planning on visiting statehouses around the country this year to gin up support for the statehood effort. more ›

After 25 days, performance artist and activist Adrian Parsons broke his hunger strike for D.C. voting rights with a gulp of coconut water outside Mayor Vince Gray's house. more ›

Mayor Vince Gray, who was getting arrested for protesting way before any of these Occupy people, has made it his mission to turn October into a month-long push for D.C. autonomy. Part of that push involves calling in favors from some of his celeb pals, who will record public service announcements denouncing the District's second-class status. more ›

As quietly as Bart Turner was arrested, his case was dismissed. Today in D.C. Superior Court, a single charge of "Unlawful Entry" against Turner -- a Ward 2 resident and former D.C. public school teacher who was arrested on April 18 during a one-man D.C. voting rights demonstration on the steps of the U.S. Capitol -- was dismissed by prosecutors. more ›

Admit it -- that's a look that says, "I want you to support the District's efforts in achieving voting rights, self-determination and statehood." more ›

Mayor and DCist commenter Vince Gray has never been afraid to dive headfirst into the (occasionally shallow) social media pool. So it's hardly surprising that the man who is using the dedication of the new Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial as an excuse to drive hard to the hoop for voting rights is asking Facebook and Twitter users to join in. But we would have figured that a simple hashtag would have sufficed. more ›

A fight over whether Mayor Vince Gray should appear as a defense witness led to the postponement of Ward 6 ANC Commissioner Keith Silver's trial on disorderly conduct charges stemming from his arrest at a voting rights protest. more ›

DCist Senior Editor Martin Austermuhle on the contention that the District must earn voting rights and self-determination. more ›

We reported yesterday that Mayor Vince Gray was going to be missing tomorrow's rally for D.C. voting rights at the White House, leading some in the movement to grumble. Well, Gray seems to have changed his mind. more ›

On June 15, Mayor Vince Gray tweeted: "Would like to see President Obama fight actively for DC autonomy. Door to Wilson Building always open to him." The sentiment, which is loudly echoed by voting rights activists across the city, will be a central theme at a rally set for this Saturday in front of the White House. Gray, however, won't be there. more ›

The History Channel is currently featuring a rather fascinating series, How The States Got Their Shapes -- and a recent episode covered the return of the District's ten miles square to Virginia, or how "George Washington's perfect diamond was torn apart." more ›

In recent months, President Barack Obama has quietly endorsed a path forward for self-determination and statehood. Great news, right? Yeah. For Puerto Rico. more ›

Part celebration of the District's hometown pride and part protest of the city's longstanding second-class status, organizers of DC Flag Tattoo Day: Flag Day in the Flesh have put the word out to anyone who has a stars-and-bars tattoo -- and even those who don't -- to gather at Dupont Circle at 6 p.m. tomorrow. more ›

During his recent campaign for an At-Large seat on the D.C. Council, Republican Patrick Mara often argued that advocates for D.C. voting rights and autonomy didn't do enough to engage congressional Republicans, opting instead to demonize them. Mara didn't win the race -- he came in a close second to Vincent Orange -- but he's recently been given a chance to put his pro-Republican voting rights pitches to the test. more ›

Live free -- and show solidarity -- or die: New Hampshire State Representative Cindy Rosenwald has filed a bill which would "formally declare the New Hampshire House of Representatives’ support for full representative democracy for citizens of the District of Columbia." more ›

The fight for D.C. voting rights, self-determination and statehood isn't a young one, and neither are many of the selfless people that have been pushing to end the city's second-class status for decades on end. But two local activists are hoping to change that. more ›

Frustrated by the way the federal government treats the District of Columbia, and wondering what the Obama Administration is doing about it? Well, here's your chance to ask -- Michael Blake, White House Director of African American & Minority Business Outreach in the Office of Public Engagement, will appear at a forum on Wednesday night at All Souls Church in Ward 1 where residents can "voice [their] concerns to the White House directly and have [their] questions answered." more ›

Mayor Vince Gray has responded to the letter that 80 Congressional Republicans (and yes, two Democrats) sent him earlier this week, demanding that he "immediately" and "faithfully" ensure that the District of Columbia doesn't spend any more of its money on "public funding for the destruction of innocent human life" and provide Congress with information about abortion spending. So how did Gray respond to the condescending request? Perhaps he used the opportunity to fan the flames of voting rights discontent and, as one DCist commenter suggested, simply "fax back a copy of his ass"? Nah, Gray used it as a chance to take a potshot at former mayor Adrian Fenty's administration. more ›

President Barack Obama, fresh off fielding the questions of Northern Virginians, will hold a Facebook town hall event this afternoon from California -- and he wants your questions! The theme of the event is “Shared Responsibility and Shared Prosperity” -- hmm, shared prosperity, eh? Sounds like the perfect opportunity to ask him why he felt the need to sell out the District on abortion funding, even though more income taxes go to our city than to his home/office. more ›

Last night, ANC 6C01 Commissioner Keith Silver was arrested by Capitol Police during a march and demonstration outside various Congressional office buildings. more ›

Tired of bugging honorary D.C. Representative Louie Gohmert about how Washington is treated as the federal punching bag? Then this Facebook app -- which, after reminding D.C. residents about their lack of voting rights, connects them to the office of a random one -- might be for you. more ›

During last year's mayoral campaign, Vince Gray spoke passionately about the city's lack of voting rights, but also threw cold water on any suggestions that only he should get arrested for the cause. What point would it make if he alone were arrested, Gray would ask, noting that only a massive uprising of District residents would cause people to stand up and take notice.

And that's what happened yesterday. more ›

Ahead of this afternoon's protest on the Hill, it's good to remind ourselves why having legislative and budgetary autonomy is so damn important for the District. For that, we turn to Rep. Tim Scott (R-SC). more ›

I was out of town and out of touch for much of the weekend, so I missed the late-night drama that spared the federal and District governments from a shutdown. That's why I was even more shocked to see how blatantly the District had been used as bargaining chip in negotiations between President Barack Obama and Speaker of the House John Boehner. Sure, a ban on the use of federal funds for abortions was set aside, but what remained is a ban that's exclusive only to the District. During the negotiations, Obama literally gave us away, telling Boehner, "John, I will give you D.C. abortion. I am not happy about it." more ›

On this day in 1961, residents of the District finally gained the right to vote in presidential elections when Ohio became the 38th state to ratify the 23rd Amendment to the Constitution. Yes, that's right -- prior to the amendment's ratification, residents of the District weren't only denied any semblance of local governance, but were also completely shut out of national politics too. more ›