In a landmark decision, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Texas’ law banning sodomy in 2003. It took almost 20 years for Democrats to get a bill to repeal the defunct ban on the House calendar.
Alex Nguyen
Alex Nguyen is a general assignment reporter with a focus on criminal justice. Before joining the newsroom in 2025, she was a breaking news reporter at The Dallas Morning News. She previously was a reporting fellow for the Tribune and a reporting intern at Bloomberg News. A graduate of Columbia University’s Stabile Center for Investigative Journalism, Alex was raised mostly in Vancouver, Canada, and she has reported for various regional and national outlets there. She speaks Vietnamese and conversational Spanish and will be based in Austin.
Posted in
Texas Legislature 2023
Texas House’s version of the Senate’s voucher bill would change eligibility to the program and replace the STAAR test
The Texas House’s education committee is soon expected to discuss the new version of Senate Bill 8, which was heavily modified to sway votes in the lower chamber.
Posted in
Texas Legislature 2023
House bills could make HIV tests a standard part of sexually transmitted infection screenings and health checks
House Bills 3377 and 2235 were authored by freshman state Rep. Venton Jones, the Legislature’s first openly HIV-positive member. They’ve received overwhelming public and bipartisan support.
Posted in
LGBTQ+ Texans
Democrats again delay Texas House debate on banning puberty blockers and hormone therapy for trans kids
Senate Bill 14 spurred protests that led to altercations with state police earlier this week. Bill supporters and opponents again showed up at the Capitol for an expected vote Friday.
Posted in
Texas Legislature 2023
LGBTQ Texans decry Capitol arrests after protests against bill banning puberty blockers and hormone therapy for kids
Senate Bill 14, which spurred demonstrations earlier this week, is again scheduled for House debate Friday. Trans Texans consider it one of this year’s most consequential bills.
Posted in
LGBTQ+ Texans
Protesters evicted from Texas Capitol as clash between LGBTQ residents and GOP leaders escalates
Texas state police detained and handcuffed people protesting legislation that would prohibit transgender kids from getting puberty blockers and hormone therapy. The House separately delayed a vote on Senate Bill 14 until later this week.
Posted in
LGBTQ+ Texans
“A death sentence”: Trans Texas teen plots his future as proposed ban on hormone therapy progresses
As Texas House members could soon vote to ban transition-related care for minors, many lives are in limbo, and trans kids like 16-year-old Randell are grappling with difficult decisions.
Posted in
LGBTQ+ Texans
Transgender Texans of all ages could lose access to transition-related care under Senate bill
The Senate advanced a bill that could create such high financial risks for doctors and health insurers that they’d stop providing or covering gender-affirming care — even for adults.
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LGBTQ+ Texans
Texas agriculture commissioner orders employees to wear clothes “consistent with their biological gender”
The policy comes as LGBTQ advocates are fighting a wave of hostile legislation at the Capitol, including proposals to restrict gender-affirming care for transgender children.
Posted in
Texas Legislature 2023
Texas House approves sweeping limits on local regulations in GOP’s latest jab at blue cities
City officials say the full scope of the legislation advanced Tuesday is still unclear, but it would limit their ability to issue worker protections, water restrictions and more.
