When the state’s concealed handgun statute was approved 15 years ago, lawmakers argued it would help citizens defend themselves — but residents of low-income, largely Democratic nieghborhoods aren’t applying for gun permits as often as those in wealthier, more-conservative areas, according to a Texas Tribune/San Antonio Express-News analysis.
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Criminal Justice
An Obama Gun Rush?
In the two years since Barack Obama was elected president, many Texas gun owners — afraid of losing their Second Amendment rights — have stocked up on weapons and ammo. Texans have also sought a record number of concealed handgun licenses. Coincidence?
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Criminal Justice
A Place to Shoot
In a pattern that’s playing out in San Antonio and other major metro areas in Texas, residents in low-income neighborhoods aren’t taking advantage of the state’s concealed-carry law as often as residents living in wealthier, more conservative areas.
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T-Squared
T-Squared: A Partnership With the Express-News
Coming this Sunday: the latest collaboration between the Trib and one of the state’s venerable newspapers.
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Criminal Justice
The Weekly TribCast: Episode 48
Our topics this week include the renewed debate over concealed handguns on campus, the advantages of not debating or talking to the press and the hotly contested battle between Congressman Chet Edwards and Republican Bill Flores in CD-17.
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Criminal Justice
TribBlog: Jail Official’s Indictment Dismissed
A judge in Nueces County today dismissed a criminal indictment against Texas Commission on Jail Standards Executive Director Adan Muñoz, who was charged in connection with his release of information about a jailhouse suicide. Open government advocates have called the indictment outrageous.
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Criminal Justice
TribBlog: We Are Family
In the shadow of a projected $21 billion budget shortfall, lawmakers told juvenile justice agencies that they must start budgeting like a cash-strapped family.
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Criminal Justice
A Burning Issue
The Innocence Project of Texas will launch a campaign today not only to exonerate Sonia Cacy, a woman who experts say was wrongly convicted of setting fire to her uncle, but also to overhaul of the use of “junk science” in the prosecution of criminal cases.
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Criminal Justice
Slideshow: A Shooting on the UT Campus
Caleb Bryant Miller, a Daily Texan photographer and frequent contributor to The Texas Tribune, was home preparing for a history test news when broke of a shooting on the campus of the University of Texas, where he’s enrolled as a second-semester senior. He ditched his books, grabbed his telephoto lens, hopped on his bike and headed to the Forty Acres to capture images of a tragic and frightening day.
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Criminal Justice
TribBlog: The Return of Concealed Carry?
Not long after a gunman ran through the University of Texas campus randomly firing an AK-47 and then shot himself, an old debate resurfaced: Should concealed handguns be allowed on campus?