Democrats’ collusion with GOP to overturn D.C.’s criminal code will cause harm
President Biden’s decision to sign the resolution of disapproval for the Revised Criminal Code Act of 2022, which sought to establish proportionality and consistency in sentencing and modernized outdated parts of D.C.’s criminal laws, is incompatible with his professed support for D.C.
statehood and the right of D.C. residents to self-government. Overturning a local law passed through the democratic process is a betrayal of District residents and democracy itself.
The surrender of the president and congressional Democrats on this issue poses a deep and far-ranging threat that reverberates far beyond the Revised Criminal Code Act.
Biden’s words and actions play into racist narratives that mischaracterize cities as awash in chaos and crime, which have reemerged in tandem with — and opposition to — the recent surge in support for racial justice, particularly criminal justice reform.
