Hayden Panettiere honored for supporting D.C. statehood

Heroes actress Hayden Panettiere may have absolutely no roots in Washington, D.C., but that is not stopping her from supporting a push to give the nation’s capitol statehood. D.C. mayor Mayor Vincent C. Gray proclaimed Sept. 16 “Hayden Panettiere Day” to honor her decision to join the push and raising “awareness among a new generation of our unique and unjust plight,” according to The Washington Post.

D.C. residents still pay taxes, even though they have no representative in the Senate and their representative in the House can not vote on legislation. Panettiere brought this up as the crux of her decision to fight, saying that, “that there's no democracy in our democracy, at the heart of it,” according to The Associated Press.

Penettiere has also been an activist for saving whales. Last week, she also appeared at the White House in an attempt to thank President Obama’s attempt to put political pressure on countries to ban whaling, according to The Washington Post.