Dwelling in DC “Might Consequence within the Lack of Your Primary Civil Rights,” Says New Signal at Border

DC welcome signs are generally low key, low key affairs. This is definitely not the case with a new one who greets visitors from Maryland in Michael D. Brown’s garden in American University Park: “WARNING,” it shouts in large letters. It goes on:

You are entering Colombia, the capital of the nation.

ATTENTION!

RESIDENCY CAN LEAD TO THE LOSS OF YOUR FUNDAMENTAL CIVIL RIGHTS.

TO BE ADVISED!

Withdrawal of your rights does not relieve you of your responsibility to the state for which you may be liable.

TAX WITHOUT REPRESENTATION!

Brown is one of the district’s shadow senators in the United States and was elected into his third term of six years in 2018. The position is unpaid. Brown estimated last year that he had spent $ 60,000 of his own funds to carry out his duties. Reached by phone, Brown says he paid for the sign himself. The pandemic has helped him save money that is usually used for rallies and paraphernalia like buttons.

His motivation? “I want to get people going!” Says Brown. “I want people to understand that this is not an inconvenience, this is not an oversight. This is a suspension, a revocation of the rights that Thomas Jefferson said were given to us by God. “He compares the statehood debate to a house that has been in the market for too long -” market worn out, “as he puts it. “I think the same goes for DC statehood – we just see [not having congressional representation] as something we have to accept. Former shadow US Senator Jesse Jackson said the district’s status would only change “if it rises to the level of personal insult,” so he says, “I am trying to insult the people of the District of Columbia. “

Brown says he could have used the information on the sign when he moved across the Montgomery County border at the age of 18 18 years ago. “I had no idea [that he wouldn’t have a voice in Congress] until I’m here, ”he says. The sign is six by four feet, the largest reflective metal sign he could order, and Brown says he got the name of a sign installer from a real estate agent he knew. It took a week to plan the installation as the real estate market is booming.

The neighbors supported us, Brown says, and while his post at Nextdoor sparked something like a “firestorm” – “There are always people in Maryland or Virginia telling you to move,” he notes – he had a lot of positive reactions. He’s been thinking about sitting outside on a garden chair during rush hour, wearing a straw hat, and maybe handing out lemonade.

And why not? Brown says he needs to freshen up his yard in preparation for installing the sign. His wife, Brown says, suggested that the best headline for any headline about the sign would be “Senator Brown is finally cutting his lawn”.