State officials backing Senate Bill 12 have said they want to protect children from seeing sexually explicit performances. But new legal challenges say the law is so broad and vague that it criminalizes constitutionally protected expression.
Demographics
Explore population trends, diversity, and data shaping Texas communities, politics, and policy.
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Demographics
Black and Hispanic Lubbock residents want federal intervention in zoning, environmental policies
A new federal complaint comes as the city updates its zoning laws for the first time since the 1970s.
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Demographics
Race was a factor in Black professor’s failed hiring, Texas A&M department head says
Hart Blanton, the head of the university’s department of communications and journalism, also said then-President M. Katherine Banks interfered with the recruitment of journalist Kathleen McElroy.
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LGBTQ+ Texans
Lawsuit seeks to block Texas from banning gender transition-related care for children
The families argue the new law, which goes into effect Sept. 1, violates their parental rights by stopping them from providing medical care for their children and discriminates against transgender teens.
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LGBTQ+ Texans
In a political era of “parental rights,” Texans raising trans kids say new law strips them of choice
Senate Bill 14, which is set to take effect on Sept. 1, bans transition-related care for minors. Parents of transgender kids say it blocks their ability to support their children.
Sponsor Post
Comcast Names Jose Espinel to Lead Texas Region
Espinel brings decades of domestic and international industry experience to head one of the nation’s most diverse and growing markets
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Demographics
As race-neutral college admissions begin, Texas counselors work to convince students of color they still belong
Black and Latino students make up about two-thirds of Texas’ public schools. But they are vastly underrepresented at its top universities, and Thursday’s Supreme Court ruling will shake up an already complicated application process.
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2023 Session Recap
Voting by mail in Texas will get a little easier with these legislative fixes
Two bipartisan bills passed this session will give voters more time and opportunities to fix mistakes when they request and return ballots by mail.
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LGBTQ+ Texans
LGBTQ+ community in Lubbock protests their city council’s failure to pass a Pride proclamation
In the conservative High Plains city, LGBTQ leaders and activists say they feel unseen and unsupported by their elected officials.
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LGBTQ+ Texans
Twenty years after a breakthrough Texas case launched a new era of gay rights, trans people are still in the fight
The U.S. Supreme Court paved the way for major civil rights victories for queer Americans in the 2003 decision that decriminalized homosexuality. But progress for LGBTQ+ people has been uneven.