Dallas civil rights attorney Lee Merritt arrested at protest in McKinney
The protest was in memory of Marvin Scott III, who died in Collin County Jail custody in 2021. Scott’s sister and a local photojournalist were also arrested. Full Story
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![Civil rights attorney Lee Merritt announces his campaign for Attorney General at a press conference held at the Texas Capitol on July 13, 2021.]()
Credit: Sophie Park/The Texas Tribune -
Here’s what to know about transition-related health care, which Texas has banned for children
Senate Bill 14 prohibits trans kids from receiving puberty blockers and hormone treatments. Here’s what medical experts and trans Texans say about such care. Full Story
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![Ashley (middle) chants, "God made trans kids! God loves trans kids!" with her children during a protest at the Texas Capitol on Tuesday, Mar. 1, 2022.]()
Credit: Lauren Witte/The Texas Tribune -
LGBTQ groups criticize Texas bill’s broad restrictions on school lessons and activities about sexuality and gender identity
Senate Bill 8 supporters say the legislation protects the rights of parents who don’t want their kids to learn about gender identity and sexual orientation. Critics say it could force schools to ignore the existence of LGBTQ people. Full Story
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![Free pronoun buttons at the AISD "Pride Out!" Party in the Park event at Eastside Early College High School in Austin on Saturday, Mar. 26, 2022. There were fill-in-the-blank and other options not pictured as well.]()
Credit: Lauren Witte/The Texas Tribune -
West Texas A&M University president cancels student drag show, saying it degrades women
Students and First Amendment lawyers say President Walter Wendler’s portrayal of drag shows is off base and the cancellation violates free-speech rights. Full Story
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![West Texas A&M University President Walter Wendler addresses the crowd at the WT Festival of Lights and winter carnival in Canyon on Dec. 2, 2022.]()
Credit: Michael Cuviello/Amarillo Globe-News/USA TODAY NETWORK via REUTERS -
Texas Senate panel advances bill that would hinder transgender kids’ access to puberty blockers and hormone therapies
Senate Bill 14 would ban doctors from providing kids with transition-related treatments that medical groups recommend for children with gender dysphoria. Full Story
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![Protestors participate in a rally against Anti-Trans legislation at the southern steps of the state capitol on April 28, 2021.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Houston language advocates race to keep their one small request from disappearing in Capitol bedlam
Woori Juntos began the legislative session hoping to win over a majority of legislators to their cause — making it easier for Texans who speak no or limited English to communicate with state agencies and access crucial services. First, they needed a lawmaker to file their bill. Full Story
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![Hyunja Norman, executive director of Woori Juntos, leads her group through the state Capitol rotunda as they make their way to their next lawmaker meeting on Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Advocacy Day on March 9, 2023. The group hoped to speak with lawmakers and seek support for bills that would improve language access for Korean and Spanish speakers in regards to health and social services,]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Why health care is still hard to access in rural towns near Texas’ bigger cities
Bigger cities like Lubbock can unintentionally suck health care resources and professionals from smaller towns, creating what one local expert calls the “doughnut effect.” Full Story
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![Main Street in downtown Ralls on Sept. 1, 2022.]()
Credit: Mark Rogers for The Texas Tribune -
House unveils bill giving state authority to “repel” and return migrants crossing from Mexico
House Bill 20 by state Rep. Matt Schaefer, R-Tyler, would test the boundaries of the state’s ability to enforce immigration law, which courts have historically ruled falls under federal purview. Full Story
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![Department of Public Safety agent arrest an undocumented migrant after he was caught on private property as part of Operation Lone Star in Kinney County near Brackettville, on Nov. 9, 2021.]()
Credit: Verónica Gabriela Cárdenas for ProPublica/The Texas Tribune -
Texas families would get $8,000 in tax dollars to send students to private school in sweeping “parental rights” bill backed by lieutenant governor
The bill, which has the blessing of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, will create new rules on how gender and sexual orientation is taught. It will face a tougher test in the House. Full Story
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![An empty classroom at Chapa Middle School in Kyle on Aug. 24, 2021.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Texas led nation in white supremacist propaganda in 2022, report finds
Incidents increased by 61% in Texas and 38% nationally last year, driven by what experts say is an increasing normalization of extremism in political discourse. Full Story
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![Members of Patriot Front arrive at a right-wing protest against a drag queen event on Sept. 24, 2022, in Houston.]()
Credit: Reginald Mathalone/NurPhoto via REUTERS -
At a Korean community center in Houston, the struggle immigrant Texans face with language barriers is clear
Texas largely conducts its state business in English and Spanish. It falls to interpreters like Terry Yun to help people scale the wall dividing them from crucial government services. Full Story
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![Terry S. Yun listens and provides translating services for a couple at the Korean Community Center in the Spring Branch district of Houston, TX, on Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023.]()
Credit: Annie Mulligan for The Texas Tribune -
The Texas House has a record number of LGBTQ representatives as lawmakers face scores of bills focused on gender and sexuality
The Texas Legislature has nine lawmakers who are openly LGBTQ, all Democrats. At the same time, some Republican lawmakers are pushing a slate of bills aimed at drag queens, transgender children and how sexuality is discussed in schools. Full Story
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![Clockwise from top left: State Reps. Josey Garcia, D-San Antonio, Christian Manuel, D-Beaumont, Venton Jones, D-Dallas, and Jolanda Jones, D-Houston.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Texas lawmakers pursued dozens of bills affecting LGBTQ people in 2023. Here’s what passed and what failed.
The Legislature banned puberty blockers and hormone therapy for trans kids, restricted the college sports teams trans athletes can join and expanded the definition of sexual conduct to include some drag shows. But a “Don’t Say Gay” provision for schools missed key deadlines. Full Story
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![Members of Austin's LGBT community gather on the steps of the capitol to celebrate the anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall riots on June 28, 2017.]()
Credit: Austin Price for The Texas Tribune -
Debate over Texas drag shows intensifies
A lawmaker is accused of hypocrisy after it emerges that he once wore a dress. He says it wasn’t sexual. Full Story
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![State Rep. Nate Schatzline, R-Fort Worth, gives a speech in recommendation of state Rep. Tony Tinderholt, R-Arlington for Speaker of the House on the opening day of the 88th Legislative Session at the state Capitol in Austin on Jan. 10, 2023. Tinderholt was defeated 145-3 to elect state Rep. Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, as Speaker of the House.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Texas senators, facing criticism, soften proposed ban on Chinese purchases of land
The measure, endorsed by Gov. Greg Abbott, originally would have banned citizens of China, Iran, Russia or North Korea from buying land in Texas. Under a new version considered Thursday, the ban wouldn’t apply to dual citizens or lawful permanent residents. Full Story
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![A ranch for sale about an hour west of Del Rio on Nov. 21, 2013.]()
Credit: Leslie Boorhem-Stephenson for The Texas Tribune -
This rural Texas hospital has closed twice. Now reopened, it hopes a new partnership can save it for good.
Under a new federal law, the rural hospital will get higher Medicare payments for shedding inpatient services to instead staff a round-the-clock emergency department. Full Story
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![The nursery at the shuttered labor and delivery unit of Medical Arts Hospital in Lamesa on Dec. 9, 2017. The rocking chair pictured came from the original facility when the staff moved into the current facility in 2009.]()
Credit: Gary Rhodes for The Texas Tribune -
How Texas activists turned drag events into fodder for outrage
The Tribune analyzed more than two dozen anti-drag protests. Opponents frequently characterized the drag events as catering to children, even when businesses advertised them as adults-only or provided warnings about the potential for explicit material. Full Story
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![Kassandra Boehmer responds to anti-drag protesters on the crosswalk with her 7-year-old son Kaufman.]()
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Texas’ shortage of mental health care professionals is getting worse
The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated an already short supply of therapists, psychologists, psychiatrists and social workers. Full Story
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![AUSTIN, TEXAS - FEBRUARY 14, 2023: Communities in Schools staff members Christy Mitchell, Dorothy Garza and Amara Nitibhon (left to right) pose for a portrait at Langford Elementary School in Austin, Texas on February 14, 2023. (Photo by Montinique Monroe for The Texas Tribune)]()
Credit: Montinique Monroe for The Texas Tribune -
Black and Hispanic Texans say they don’t trust the quality of their water
A survey was commissioned by the nonprofit organization Texas Water Trade and included responses from households in both rural border communities and in urban areas across Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth. Full Story
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![A portable water tank at a colonia at Las Pampas, on Oct. 21, 2014.]()
Credit: Jennifer Whitney for The Texas Tribune -
In an age of repeated crises, these Texans are creating mutual aid networks to help neighbors in need
Community organizations and individuals helped many Texans weather this month’s ice storm. Extreme weather heightens demand for their help — but it can also stress their resources. Full Story
![Linda Jackson, Corey Roberson and Sasha Rose, an organizer with Austin Mutual Aid, all fold clothing at the Washatopia laundromat in Austin on Feb. 7, 2023. “We provided the blankets, but [the help] shouldn’t stop there. What we’re trying to do is fill in the gaps,” said Rose, explaining just giving people blankets without support for caring for their things just creates another problem.](https://thumbnails.texastribune.org/3H29ZO2K-Qo8K2AwH1K5LmBofcQ=/850x570/smart/filters:quality(75)/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/8397b87ac07d6866f6cd66060d204d6f/0207%20Mutual%20Aid%20Laundry%20EL%2012%20REEDIT.jpg)
![Linda Jackson, Corey Roberson and Sasha Rose, an organizer with Austin Mutual Aid, all fold clothing at the Washatopia laundromat in Austin on Feb. 7, 2023. “We provided the blankets, but [the help] shouldn’t stop there. What we’re trying to do is fill in the gaps,” said Rose, explaining just giving people blankets without support for caring for their things just creates another problem.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune