D.C. Official Calls Trent Franks a ‘Big Bully’ for Bill to Limit Abortions in the City
Read the whole article here.
Washington’s delegate to Congress called Rep. Trent Franks, R-Glendale [AZ], “a big bully” Tuesday for his proposal to restrict abortions in the District of Columbia.
Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, a Democrat, made the remarks at a news conference with other city officials decrying what she called the “undisguised bullying tactics of the 112th Congress” when it tries to force its will on the city. The District does not have a voting member of Congress.
“You think the easy way to get something through Congress is to do it to the one jurisdiction that pays federal taxes but has no vote in the House, even on matters affecting their own jurisdiction,” Norton said.
[…]
Speakers at the news conference said they were surprised that Franks, generally a proponent of smaller government, would want to impose a congressional rule on the city.
‘Members who want to … violate democratic principles of our country and violate our own local rights are in for a fight,’ Norton said. ‘And we’re going to fight them here, we’re going to fight them where they live.’
Read the whole thing to learn about the protest D.C. residents staged outside of Trent Franks’s office. It’s amusing. Trent Franks is also pushing the bill to ban abortions for sex-selection, which is to be voted on today in Congress.
UPDATE: The bill that would ban sex-selection abortions has failed.
Washington, D.C., Mayor Vincent Gray and Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, the city’s non-voting delegate in Congress, at a news conference to complain about what they call Congress’ interference in the city’s affairs. Photo by Jerilyn Forsythe