Alert the modern-day Betsy Rosses out there: get that 51st star ready, because D.C. is introducing its statehood bill and formally petitioning Congress to be admitted. But don’t quit your day job just yet.

At a press conference on Capitol Hill, D.C. politicians laid out the case for statehood, while acknowledging that the legislation’s chances of passage are slim.

“We know what the Congress looks like, we know what the executive looks like, but if you stop building momentum you simply won’t be ready when the time comes,” said Norton. “For ourselves, we cannot be content with less than statehood.” She has introduced a statehood bill every Congressional term she’s been in office.

Most of the elected D.C. representatives behind the lectern—Norton, Mayor Muriel Bowser, Council Chair Phil Mendelson—will not have a vote when or if the bill hits the House or Senate floor.

Senator Tom Carper (D-DE) does, though. Norton described him as a “strong advocate,” who previously introduced a statehood bill in the Senate and hosted a (poorly attended by other senators) hearing on the subject—the first of its kind in two decades. Carper told a story about Wayne Gretzky, who famously said “You miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take.”

“We’re gonna keep taking the shot,” said Carper. “And eventually, we’ll score the goal.”

The Washington, DC Admission Act would make D.C. a full-fledged state called the “State of Washington, Douglass Commonwealth“, with two senators and one House member. It reads: “State of Washington, Douglass Commonwealth is declared to be a State of the United States of America, and is declared admitted into the Union on an equal footing with the other States in all respects whatever.”

As Carper introduces the bill in the Senate, which Norton has already done in the House, Mendelson and Bowser will formally petition Congress for statehood. The statehood referendum that passed D.C. with an overwhelming majority in November legally requires them to do so, following the “Tennessee Plan.” The Tar Heels became a state in 1796 this way.

“For all of us, this issue is not a Democratic or Republican issue, it’s an American issue,” says Bowser. “We call on Americans from both sides of the aisle to look to our city, where we already operate as a city, county, and state.”

Bowser pointed out that D.C. pays more taxes than 22 states and has a larger population than two—figures statehood advocates know by heart, but most of the country does not.

Equality or not, we’re talking about a city that voted 90 percent for Hillary Clinton, and whose council has 11 Democrats and two independents that are essentially more progressive Democrats. Ohio Governor John Kasich admitted that he opposed statehood because it would mean “more votes in the Democratic Party.”

More commonly, statehood foes hide behind the Constitution. Mendelson countered the critique that the Founding Fathers intended for D.C. to be disenfranchised. “Actually, they overlooked us,” he said. “Our founding fathers are not perfect.” He pointed to slavery as an example.

The bill and formal petition come as Republicans in Congress have signaled their intent to exert greater control over D.C. Before Donald Trump even took office, the GOP made moves to upend three different D.C. laws or policies, including abortion and guns control. A bid to block the Death with Dignity law failed, but members of the House vowed to keep fighting during budget season.

Whether or not the statehood bill succeeds this term, Norton made it clear that the 216-year fight would continue.

“To be content with less than statehood is to concede the equality of citizenship that is the birthright of our residents as citizens of the United States,” said Norton. “That is a concession no American citizen has ever made, and D.C. residents will never make.”

Washington, D.C. Admission Act by Rachel Kurzius on Scribd

Updated to clarify that Senator Carper’s hearing was poorly attended by other senators. “D.C. residents filled the hearing room and an overflow hearing room,” says Josh Burch, executive director of Neighbors United for Statehood.