Eric Olson

Another jurisdiction has endorsed the notion of making the District of Columbia the 51st state, but this time, no cohort of D.C. officials or voting-rights activists needed to board a plane or urge local lawmakers to pen legislation. This embrace of D.C. statehood came without much of a fight at all.

Prince George’s County might not be New Hampshire, or even Florida, but its something, right? The County Council adopted a resolution yesterday that calls for admitting the District as a full member in the union of states, The Washington Times reports.

Mayor Vince Gray, several members of the D.C. Council and representatives of the group DC Vote traveled to New Hampshire in January an an attempt to use the Granite State’s “Live Free or Die” ethos as a rallying cry for the District’s own rights. A New Hampshire House of Representatives panel turned them down, as did the full legislature a couple weeks later. A similar mission to Florida was scuttled earlier this month after the statehouse there simply ran out of time on its legislative calendar. (The state-by-state push being organized by Councilmember Michael A. Brown (I-At Large) has its sights set next on Delaware.)

But for the Prince George’s resolution, no heavy lifting was needed. Being right next door to the District, county officials often hear from their D.C. counterparts about the struggle for proper congressional representation and legislative autonomy.

“It’s the right thing to do,” Eric Olson, vice chairman of the Prince George’s County Council, told the Times. “We want to be supportive of our neighbors and colleagues and try to help their efforts.”

So, hey, the Prince George’s resolution might not have the heft of one passed by a state legislature, but it’s a start, right?