Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) recently proposed a legislation aimed at paying tribute to deceased mayors of Washington, D.C., in the same manner that fallen state governors are honored, by having the President mandate that flags be flown at half-mast. This bill, part of a broader initiative designed to secure equal rights for the District of Columbia’s nearly 700,000 inhabitants, draws the position D.C. mayor more in line with that of state governors in terms of executive privileges.
Norton remarked on the importance of according the same level of respect to deceased D.C. mayors as is traditionally given to similar dignitaries from states, territories, or possessions currently acknowledged in the legislation. She expressed her belief that the failure to include the District of Columbia in this tradition was likely an oversight rather than an intentional slight against D.C.’s mayor or its residents. By integrating D.C.’s mayors into the group of officials who can be commemorated with flags at half-staff, the amendment would mark a modest, yet meaningful, step towards equalizing the treatment of D.C.’s residents.
At the time of reporting, efforts to obtain comments from the mayor’s office remained unanswered.
The bill had previously been approved by the House Committee on Judiciary during the 116th Congress.
Following Norton’s announcement of the bill, some social media users humorously suggested that Mayor Muriel Bowser might want to watch her back. One user on X responded to Norton’s announcement with a light-hearted warning to the mayor, implying the legislative proposal might be ominous:
