History of women in Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico has participated in the Olympics, since the 1948 Summer Olympics, which were celebrated in London, as an independent nation. However, since Puerto Ricans have American citizenship, Puerto Rican athletes have the option of representing Puerto Rico or moving to the United States where after living there for 3 years or more they can represent that country in the games. Some Puerto Ricans, such as Gigi Fernández in tennis, have won gold medals for the U.S. Also, women who are of Puerto Rican heritage are considered by the Government of Puerto Rico to be "Puerto Rican Citizens". Since 2007, the Government of Puerto Rico has been issuing "Certificates of Puerto Rican Citizenship" to anyone born in Puerto Rico or to anyone born outside of Puerto Rico with at least one parent who was born in Puerto Rico.
51st state
On June 27, 2018, Jenniffer González-Colón, Puerto Rico's non-voting member of Congress, introduced the Puerto Rico Admission Act of 2018 (HR 6246) to Congress to admit Puerto Rico as a US state. The legislation would create a taskforce to repeal or amend any existing laws that have unequal application between Puerto Rico and the several States to phase in equality for Puerto Rico. Under this legislation (if passed), Puerto Rico would become incorporated (from its current unincorporated status) while equality with US States is phased in and Puerto Rico would fully become a US State by January 2021. The bill introduced into the House has bipartisan support with 37 cosponsors, including 22 Republicans and 15 Democrats. Jenniffer Gonzalez-Colon is the Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico. The Resident Commissioner is elected by the people of Puerto Rico to serve in the US House of Representatives but does not have full voting power, due to its unequal status as a US territory. The legislation cites the two referenda Puerto Rico voted on in favor of Statehood to call on Congress to admit Puerto Rico as a State as an expression of the will of the people in the territory.