As District of Columbia license plates proclaim, the nation's capital suffers from "taxation without representation." Congress recently passed a bill that would correct that by giving the District a full voting representative.

The opposition to the bill is as cynical as it is transparent. For the bill to become law, its supporters will have to highlight just how hollow and hypocritical are the arguments offered by the bill's opponents.

In the bill's last go-round, Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas) attached a provision that would have neutered the District's ability to regulate semiautomatic rifles and unregistered weapons. The move forced the legislation's advocates to weigh the value of the House seat against a near certain increase in gun violence, forcing them to put the measure on hold. The recent gun violence at Virginia Tech exposes the dangers inherent in such insidious political maneuverings.

The legislation -- which was reworked to bypass Smith's roadblock -- grants Utah an additional House seat (likely, in that state, to go Republican) to balance the District's presumed Democratic one. The law's effect would therefore be politically neutral, benefiting neither party.

The White House has suggested it will veto the legislation if it passes the Senate. Yet President Bush bristles at suggestions that Iraqis were not ready for democracy. For Iraq, he implores us "to remember that these elections are also a vital part of a broader strategy for protecting the American people against the threat of terrorism."

Are Washingtonians not ready to be represented in Congress? Are U.S. elections less vital? Does the president's commitment to the transformative power of the polls apply to Baghdad and Kabul but not to our own capital?

What is the rationale for brandishing the veto, which the president has seen fit to use only twice in his six years in office? Strict adherence to the Constitution.

Opponents of the bill cite the Constitution's limitation that members of Congress be chosen by "people of the several states." Its supporters counter that another section of the Constitution grants Congress the broad power "to exercise exclusive legislation" over the District, which has been used in the past to expand the District's self-rule.

This is an administration that has rarely felt constrained by constitutional principle. From warrantless wiretaps to the suspension of habeas corpus to the flaunting of the Geneva Conventions, the administration has blown through legal constraints in the "war on terror" and in its campaign to bring democracy to Iraq.

The issue of full voting rights for the District does not split along partisan lines. Legal experts with good Republican credentials disagree with the president on the constitutionality of the bill. Viet Dinh, a former associate attorney general in the Bush administration and an architect of the Patriot Act, told Congress the bill was likely constitutional. Kenneth Starr, Bill Clinton's nemesis, has also written in support of the measure's validity. In the past, Richard Nixon and Bob Dole have given their support in Congress to voting representation for the District.

Washington is a predominantly black city of just under 600,000 people and with about 100,000 young voters (18- to 29-year-olds). It has a long history of racial tension, inequality and crime. These are issues that require political solutions -- national as well as local. Congressional representation is equally if not more important for those whose rights and safety are most in need of protection and who are most exposed to shifts in political power.

There is a multitude of ways active citizens can make their voices heard -- through volunteer work, contributions to candidates for office, active participation in public debate and protest. But the most powerful and the most likely way to effect change is to cast a ballot and send a representative to Congress to make the laws of the land.

The very fact that there is no one representing the District in this debate -- that it is happening about them without them -- is why there should be no debate about this injustice. The Senate should follow the House and pass the bill that begins to address the disparity, then the president should uphold the democratic ideal he offers for export and sign it.

District of Columbia residents deserve congressional representation so that, as the broader national debate continues, they not only have a voice but their government will have to listen.

Devin Talbott is co-founder and chairman of GenerationEngage, a grass-roots youth civic engagement effort.