When reporters scramble to cover the latest mass shooting, we don’t put every awful thing we encounter in our stories. We have been trained to hold back the most gruesome. There is an editorial process, along with standards and practices, that tell us to hold back on some of the worst details and the stuff of nightmares that actually happened.
We do this to protect the public. But one could argue that the press isn’t doing a very good job of protecting the public because these mass shootings keep happening—and maybe holding back on covering them is the problem.
Maybe if people knew how incredibly terrible these scenes were—maybe they would do more to prevent the next one.
The Washington Post is putting that question to the test.
This week the Post published an investigation into AR-15s and their roles in mass shootings.
Titled “Terror on Repeat: A rare look at the devastation caused by AR-15 shootings” the article includes a number of graphic photos from the scene at Robb Elementary, including images of classrooms covered in blood and a hallway filled with body bags.
To tell us more about this reporting project and the process behind it, I’m joined by Washington Post National Reporter Silvia Foster-Frau and Senior National Investigations Editor – Peter Wallsten.
OUTLaw LGBTQ+
It’s been 20 years since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Laurence v. Texas that the state laws banning homosexuality were unconstitional. It was a 6-to-3 decision that remains controversial still today.
Yet the law in the Texas penal code that makes sodomy a crime remains on the books. It has not been revoked despite multiple efforts in the state legislature.
And just because the law isn’t constitutional and isn’t enforced, doesn’t mean it’s inert. It still looms large as a threat against the state’s LBGTQ community.
KXAN reporter Josh Hinkle explores the legacy and continued impact of the Texas anti-sodomy law in the investigative project OUT LAW.
Show Me Your Papers
This week the Texas House of Representatives passed one of the most controversial and strictest immigration laws in the country. It will have major implications for migrants and anyone who appears to be a migrant in the state.
It’s called SB 4 but it’s also being called the “Show me your papers Law” since one of the most controversial aspects of the bill allows local and state law enforcement officials to arrest someone they suspect unlawfully crossed into Texas.
The bill also creates two new state crimes for migrants who enter or re-enter into the state illegally from another country, punishable with up to two years in prison.
SB 4 is creating fears that it could lead to widespread racial profiling. Greg Casar joins me to discuss this issue.
Greg Casar is a democrat and Congressman for Texas Congressional District 35 which covers from East Austin to West San Antonio.
